QA - 75N91020Q00108.pdf

National Cancer Institute Q&A - 75N91020Q00108 Page 1 of 4

QUESTION AND RESPONSE – VOLUME I

RFP #: 75N91020Q00108 – 0001

CURRENT AS OF: 8/19/2020 at 3:00 PM EST

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12.4 and 14.4.2 Is there a cap on the total cost or a cap on the direct cost?

The NCI intends to issue a firm-fixed price (FFP) purchase order (PO). As prescribed in FAR 16.202-1 a

FFP contract is one where the price “is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract.” For more details see sections 12.4 and 14.4.2 of the solicitation.

Page 2 Is the pilot study published? If not, can the NCI make it available to bidders?

The paper is published and publicly available at:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32134687/

If so, who are they and can NCI provide citations to their work and or copies of reports?

See link above

Are there other contractors, apart from

OHDSI, whose work has shaped his procurement?

No Contractors assisted in the creation of this requirement.

Will the data set developed under the prior contract be made available to the contractor for this study?

No.

Is NCI looking for the contractor to propose alternative data sets for the work?

Offerors can propose any reasonable alternative data sets that meets the requirements listed in the SOW or solicitation under Section 13.3.1 “Sub-Factor A –

Technical Capability.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32134687/

National Cancer Institute Q&A - 75N91020Q00108 Page 2 of 4

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Page 2 Should analyses of additional types of cancers

(beyond the 4 requested) be proposed as optional tasks?

Offerors can propose optional tasks. Offerors shall stay within the space limits and page limits of the proposal.

Page 2 and Task 2 The analyses outlined in

Task 2 direct the contractor to characterize variation in treatment pathways and variance relative to guidelines.

Impact on outcomes is not noted in Task 2.

Does NCI also want the contractor to evaluate how variation in treatment has affected outcomes?

Offerors do not need to analyze or evaluate how the variation in treatment has affected outcomes. If an

Offerors may elect to describe an approach to analyze the impact on outcomes for any potential future work.

However, any description will be evaluated only to the extent outlined in Section 13.3 “Factor 1 – Technical.”

Providing an approach will not give Offerors an advantage during the technical evaluation.

Page 3 Does the NCI have a preference for the software to be used for data visualization?

Any software used should be commercially available;

however, NCI has no preference for specific software.

Page 3-4, Under

Task 2, Create and

Analyze Data, How are these subtasks different?

NCI wants to maintain flexibility in the approach used to address diverse cancers types. Offerors can propose to use guidelines or pathways or both

(whatever is most applicable for a given cancer type and stage of cancer) as a reference to analyze the extent of variations.

Also, here and elsewhere in the RFP, the terms

“guidelines” and

“pathways” are used. In oncology, “pathways” tend to be more narrowly focused (i.e., offer fewer therapeutic options) than

“guidelines.” As such, “variation” from one or the other could yield much different results.

Does the RFP intend to make such a distinction?

The RFP did not intend to make a narrow distinction between pathways and guidelines. Offerors can describe either or both, whatever is most relevant for the analysis.

National Cancer Institute Q&A - 75N91020Q00108 Page 3 of 4

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QUESTION RESPONSE

General To ensure a thorough response, would the NCI extend the response deadline?

NCI will extend the deadline to 8/27 at 12:00 PM

EST.

Section 2.0 and

Section 14.2

Is this still open for responses? If so, would you possibly be able to provide us with guidance on the format and where to submit the proposal to?

Please see section 2.0 of the solicitation for submission deadlines. Please see section 14.2 for submission instructions.

General Is the expectation that contractors be able to map out the pathway exactly as laid out in guidelines such as the NCCN, since any claims or EHR data set will have limitations in the granularity needed to do that precisely, or are there higher level pathways can map as a baseline to use as a reference to assess the extent of deviation from the recommended guideline.

The intent of the RFP is to get a sense of the large-scale variation from existing guidelines or pathways. There is no expectation of creating granular and nuanced treatment pathways for all cancers of interest. There is also no expectation of conducting a comprehensive analysis of all treatment pathways and all possible variation from all pathways. Offerors can use existing, major guidelines from NCCN, ASCO or other credible sources as a reference point for analyzing variations in oncology treatment patterns.

General Is there an incumbent contractor currently performing these services, if similar services have been performed in the past, or if this is a new requirement?

If this is a follow-on requirement, could you please provide the previous contract or task order number?

There is no incumbent currently performing these services.

Similar services have been performed in the past under HHSN261201700469P.

However, services required under this solicitation differ from those performed in the previous purchase order. This is a new requirement.

National Cancer Institute Q&A - 75N91020Q00108 Page 4 of 4

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QUESTION RESPONSE

Section 10.0 Are subawards allowed?

The section indicates

“Services shall be performed at the

Contractor’s facility/facilities.” Does this mean subawards are prohibited?

Sub-contracts are allowable under this solicitation. For the purposes of this award, “Contractor’s facility/facilities” means those facilities not operated by NCI.