Technical and Project Management Support of the Central Data Collection Center (CDCC)

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. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. This requirement has been assigned NAICS code 541990 - Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services which has a size standard of $16,500,000. Background: The National Cancer Institute approved the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial in January 1991. Contracts were awarded in September 1992 for Screening Centers (SCs), a Coordinating Center, and a Laboratory. In September 2002, the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) was launched at all 10 PLCO SCs and 23 American College of Radiology Imaging Network institutions (NLST-ACRIN). Each PLCO SC, as well as the Coordinating Center, had their original PLCO contract modified to include support of (NLST-Lung Screening Study (LSS). In March 2011, a contract for a Centralized Data Coordinating Center (CDCC) was awarded permitting continued follow-up of all PLCO participants who consented to remain in the study as either active or passive participants. Active PLCO participants could be directly contacted by the CDCC for study-related activities. Additionally, active participants were followed through linkages to state cancer registries and the National Death Index (NDI) conducted by the CDCC. Passive PLCO participants, as well as all NLST-LSS participants, were followed only through passive linkages to state cancer registries and the NDI conducted by the SCs. The CDCC manages the centralized data and participates in direct follow-up activities for active PLCO participants; additionally, it coordinates data linkages of all active and passive PLCO participants and all NLST-LSS participants. Design, Participants and Procedures: The PLCO Cancer Screening Trial is a large-scale, randomized study designed to determine whether certain screening tests will reduce the number of deaths from these cancers. PLCO follow-up was being conducted at 10 sites, geographically and demographically disparate, around the U.S. The Trial enrolled over 150,000 male and female participants between the ages of 55 and 74 from 1993 to 2001. Lifestyle, dietary and risk factor information was collected from participants. The screening phase of PLCO ended in September 2006 for the last enrollees. All consenting participants were actively followed until 2009. In 2011, participants who re-consented to continue active follow-up had their data and personally identifiable information (PII) transferred to the CDCC. Participants who opted for passive follow-up through data linkage had their data and PII remain at the SCs. There are currently about 74,000 active participants in the CDCC and 18,000 passive participants from the SCs. The CDCC coordinates and conducts data management activities for linkages of all consenting participants (active and passive) with 19 state cancer registries and the National Death Index (NDI). The NLST is a multi-institutional trial to determine if increased detection of apparently early-stage lung cancers by computerized tomography screening ultimately resulted in decreased lung cancer-specific mortality. The Trial followed over 50,000 subjects through the end of 2009, resulting in an average follow-up period of 6.5 years. Incident lung (and other) cancers and deaths during this period were ascertained through an active follow-up process at the 10 NLST-LSS SCs and the 23 NLST-ACRIN institutions. After 2009, vital status and newly diagnosed cancers have been ascertained through data linkages with the NDI and 27 state cancer registries. The CDCC coordinates the linkages between the 10 NLST-LSS SCs and the NDI and state cancer registries. Project Requirements: The purpose of this requirement is to support the National Cancer Institute with technical and project management services for the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial and National Lung Screening Trial resources by: 1) continuing the follow-up of participants; 2) updating key exposure data and collecting additional data through delivery of questionnaires and/or biospecimens; 3) increasing the number of accrued incident cancers through active follow-up and data linkages with state cancer registries; 4) updating participants vital statuses through active follow-up and data linkages with the National Death Index. 1. Project Management 2. Computer Programming and Data Management 3. PLCO/NLST Passive Follow-Up 4. PLCO Active Follow-Up 5. Special Studies/Additional Projects A copy of the draft Statement of Work (SOW) pertaining to this requirement, which is subject to revisions, is attached to this notice. Capability Statement/Information Sought: Respondents are expected to have the expertise, personnel, and systems to meet requirements of the draft Statement of Work (SOW). Tailored Capability Statements shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the tasks specified in the attached draft SOW. The Capability Statements will be evaluated based on the information provided in relation to the project requirements and the current capability to: 1) perform the work in the attached Draft Statement of Work; 2) staff education, training, experience, expertise and knowledge; 3) prior completed projects and Government contracts of a similar nature; 4) corporate experience and management; and 5) computing infrastructure. Information Submission Instructions: Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement, not to exceed fifteen (15) total single-spaced pages including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc. (12 point font size at a minimum), that clearly details the firm's ability to perform and that addresses the specific requirements described above and the draft Statement of Work (SOW). Tailored capability statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status. Please provide your DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, email addresses, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code on the first page of your capability statement. Number of Copies/Delivery Point: All capability statements sent in response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Noor Shakeel, Contract Specialist, at noor.shakeel@nih.gov either in MS Word, or searchable Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The email subject line must specify HHS-NIH-NCI-SBSS-CDCC-2019. Facsimile and telephone responses will not be accepted. Common Cut-off Date: Electronically submitted tailored capability statements are due no later than 4:00PM EST on January 16, 2020. 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 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 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 responses. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).