75N992-25-SS-102 Sources Sought Notice.pdf

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Washington, DC - Cambridge, MA - Dallas, TX www.arpa-h.gov

Sources Sought Notice – 75N992-25-SS-102

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Real World Data – Data Sources, Platforms, and Services

1.0 Background:

ARPA-H is seeking information from sources capable of meeting its needs with respect to Real World Data (RWD) to support its mission. ARPA-H is planning procurements to put in place an agile and flexible contracting structure that can aid in the rapid startup of ARPA-H’s research and development (R&D) programs and support ARPA-H’s ongoing strategic planning and assessment of its impact. ARPA-H has needs in four areas with respect to

RWD:

1) Data Sourcing for Real World Data Sources

2) Data Management and Analytics Platforms

3) Data Management and Curation Services

4) Project Management

ARPA-H is a government agency which seeks to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to society's most challenging health problems. ARPA-H R&D programs are led by program managers (PMs) who have three-year terms with an option to be renewed for three more. PMs need rapid access to RWD in the early phases of their program planning processes to conduct landscape and feasibility analyses prior to formal program approval. Additionally, the execution of many programs requires access to a diversity of data sets that matches the diversity of programs, from electronic health records to social determinants of health to environmental data such as pollutants and climate change impacts. Accordingly, the agency seeks to establish a flexible contracting structure to support these needs.

This sources sought notice provides information about the four key areas of need (see section 3.0), and seeks sources capable of fulfilling them and information regarding available products and services meeting the Government’s needs (see section 4.0), as well as feedback from industry regarding potential acquisition strategies.

2.0 Request for Information:

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). The Government will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI as all costs

Sources Sought Notice

75N992-25-SS-102

associated with responding to this RFI will be the sole responsibility of the responding party.

All submissions to this RFI become Government property and will not be returned.

Proprietary information and trade secrets shall NOT be submitted in response to this RFI.

The Government will not review any submittals with proprietary information or trade secrets. The summary of the Government’s needs that is included with this RFI is a draft document and does not constitute the Government’s final requirement.

3.0 Requirements & Potential Contract Vehicles:

3.1 Requirements - The Government has provided a summary of its key need areas as an attachment to this RFI. Please note that this document does not constitute the Government’s complete requirements and these needs are being fully developed into Performance Work Statements or other requirements documents as appropriate.

3.2 Contract Vehicles - The Government is considering several acquisition strategies to fulfill these requirements. The pathways under consideration are:

1) One integrated contract incorporating all four task areas

2) Separate acquisitions (either single or multiple award) for a) Data Platforms and b) Real World Data Sources and Data Management and Curation Services. (Note that Project Management will be inherent to each acquisition).

a. Under this model, the Government is considering separating the acquisition and curation of data from the acquisition of the storage and analytics platforms.

Within those separate acquisitions, the Government is further considering combining each requirement under a single award or making multiple awards.

4.0 RFI Response and Government Questions:

The Government seeks responses from potential vendors capable of meeting one or more need areas identified in the Government’s summary of its requirements. Responses should include:

1. A capability statement addressing the vendor’s products and services addressing Government’s requirements with respect to RWD as identified in the need summary document. In their capability statements, in addition to a summary of the products and services which can be provided, vendors should address their experience in implementing and delivering similar products and services. For Need Areas 1 and 2, the Government also requests the following information be explicitly addressed in responses:

a. For Need Area 1, the Government requests specific information on vendors’ ability to provide the required data sources. Please complete columns D & E on the attached RFI Data Matrix for both the United States Data Requirements and International Data Requirements tabs, as applicable.

Additionally, respondents in Need Area 1 should address the Government’s other needs regarding privacy preserving technology and data use and access within the written portion of the capability statement

b. For Need Area 2, the Government requests that capability statements provide specific information on the vendors’ ability to provide one or more of the required data platforms. Please complete columns D&E on the attached RFI Data Matrix for the Data Platforms tab. The Government requests information on the required platforms and general performance requirements listed in the Need Summary document. The matrix is intended to provide a streamlined format for responses; for details regarding the Government’s requirement, please refer to the Need Summary.

Responses should also address the vendors’ platform’s ability to meet the full range of the Government’s performance requirements. Additionally, vendors should provide information regarding previous deployments of the platforms to federal customers, and specifically address requirements applicable to Federal IT Acquisition (e.g. FedRAMP, Section 508 Compliance, etc.).

2. In addition to the capability statements the Government requests industry feedback and responses in the following topic areas concerning the potential procurement(s) contemplated by this notice:

a. Please provide feedback regarding the acquisition structures contemplated in section 3.2 of this RFI. Specifically, please address your firm’s likelihood of submitting an offer under each contemplated business arrangement.

b. Scalability and flexibility of Data Sources and Platforms is critical to the success of this program. ARPA-H is a growing organization and the full array of use cases for RWD is continually evolving. Please provide insights regarding how to best structure business arrangements to support this potential growth while also making efficient use of agency resources. For data sources, please address the flexibility and scalability of data use agreements in this response, and for data platforms please address expansion of platform capacity.

c. For each need area, please provide information regarding the pricing terms usually applied by your firm to these products and services in commercial and federal marketplaces. Additionally, if possible, please provide rough order of magnitude (ROM) annual cost estimates for the requirements as described;

Cost estimates may be provided in the RFI Data Matrix, column F, for each requirement area.

d. Please provide information regarding the lead time required to meet the Government’s requirements. Does your firm have off-the-shelf products and services capable of meeting these needs?

5.0 Response Format and Submission:

Vendors are requested to submit their response to the RFI no later than 4:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday December 11, 2024. Send responses to acquisitions@arpa-h.gov. Responses should be limited to 10 pages. The requested matrix regarding data sets does not count towards the page limit.

Vendors are requested to include the following information in their responses.

1. Complete Business Name, including UEI Number, Tax ID, CAGE Code, and GSA contract number (if applicable).

2. Contact Information (Respondent's name and title, address, telephone, e-mail).

3. Business Size and Classification (small, small-disadvantaged, SBA Certified 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, women-owned, other than small, etc.). The anticipated NAICS for the Government’s requirements is 518210, with a size standard of $40 Million.

4. Capability statement and responses to the Government’s questions as identified in section 4.0 of this notice. The Government requests that respondents provide specific information as listed in the RFI Data Matrix, and that the written capability statements supplement with any additional information requested in the RFI, or as deemed necessary by the respondent.

A submitted response to this RFI constitutes consent for the submission to be reviewed by Government personnel, Federally Funded Research and Development Center employees, and Science and Engineering Technical Advisor (SETA) support contractors.

Thank you for your interest in partnering with ARPA-H. We look forward to your valuable insights and recommendations.

mailto:acquisitions@arpa-h.gov