b. Project background.

NIMH is one of 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation's medical research agency. The NIMH mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure.

The NIMH Information Resource Center (IRC) is the central point of contact for people who are seeking information from NIMH about mental illnesses and NIMH research, programs, and initiatives.

Prior support services of the NIMH IRC included broader communication type services. In response to HHS-wide cost efficiency initiatives and to support NIH’s activities to centralize communication functions, efforts under this new requirement have been descoped to focus primarily on this highly specialized service that is required to continue to uniquely managed at the NIMH level.

This requirement is currently being supported through 4/18/2026 by PICS III IDIQ Contract Holder, IQ Solutions, Inc.

3. Description of the Requirement:

a. Project title. NIMH Public Inquiry Support Services

b. Project description.

This project supports the NIMH IRC, which is the central point of contact for people who are seeking information from NIMH about mental illnesses and NIMH research, programs, and initiatives. The Contractor shall provide the services and infrastructure needed to screen, track, and respond to inquiries received via phone, email, and mail.

c. Requirement type.

Support services (non-research & development) Supplies/equipment Information technology (IT) Other (specify): ____________________

d. Type of action.

New requirement Follow-on Other (specify): ______________________

e. Proposed order type.

Firm-fixed-price Time and materials

Indefinite delivery (specify whether indefinite quantity, definite quantity, or requirements): ___________

Cost Reimbursement: ___________ Other (specify): ________________

f. Acquisition identification number.

POTS 26-000807

g. Total estimated dollar value and performance/delivery period.

Total Estimated Dollar Value:

Period of Performance: 4/19/2026 through 2/18/2027 (10-months).

4. Market Research.

In performing the market research activities, NIMH and OA staff supplemented their personal existing knowledge of sources and practices in the field about this requirement as well as a thorough review of contract holders on the NIH Public Information and Communication Services III (PICS III) contract vehicle. Due to the nature of the services required in the state of work, and historical procurements a competitive small business set-aside acquisition using FAR 16.5 procedures through the NIH PICS III contract vehicle would be best to adequately meet the needs of the contract. A review of catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on-line, and searched PICS III Website for products or services was also conducted.

The market research conducted confirmed that the services outlined in this Statement of Work are of a type that are customarily available in the commercial marketplace. While the services are also available through searches conducted on GSA FSS, it was determined that the PICS III Contract would be the most suitable contracting vehicle given that it provides a large pool over 17 small business contract holders, many of which are capable of performing the required tasks specifically IQ Solutions.

5. Identification of the justification rationale [see 16.505(b)(2)] for exceptions to the fair opportunity process.

a. Urgent Need. FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) —The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

NIMH urgently needs to ensure uninterrupted support for its essential public inquiry response activities that were initially planned to be centralized at NIH now that the NIH Communications Office has determined that this uniquely specialized service needs to be maintained at NIMH.

This contractor provides support services to operate the NIMH IRC, which screens, tracks, and responds to over 9000 inquiries received annually via email, telephone, and mail. Due to the nature of NIMH’s mission, the IRC receives inquiries from individuals in crisis and those seeking mental health services.

The IRC is the primary point of contact for public requests for information on mental health and NIMH research. While most requests are digital, NIMH also responds to requests by phone. The IRC provides NIMH research and information on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and underlying causes of mental disorders to members of the public, health care providers, advocacy organizations, and others.

The IRC responds to approximately 400 phone call inquiries monthly. The inquiry totals include calls that were transferred to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline or the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. IRC staff are not responsible for following up on the calls where the callers select the option to be transferred to a crisis center or locator line from the option prompts in the phone tree.

On average, the majority of inquiries are from members of the public for personal use. Other inquiries are from health care providers, health educators, professional or advocacy groups, students, K-12 educators, researchers, and government agencies. Most inquiries are for information about disorders, treatment, or research.

However, there are occasions where a person may contact the IRC whose questions may suggest thoughts of suicide. Information specialists should urge callers to call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and follow other crisis guidelines approved by NIMH. While the IRC and NIMH strive to provide accurate and useful information in a sensitive manner, the NIMH IRC is not a crisis hotline. In these situations, the best service to offer callers is to urge them to speak with the trained counselors staffing the Lifeline. The telephone system supported also has an interactive voice response system that allows callers to be automatically forwarded to external resources, such as the SAMHSA National Helpline or 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In addition, the system currently has the capacity to track and analyze these transfers. The Contractor should develop and implement a plan for regular testing of telephone lines. Therefore, as in these instances it is critical that the support provided by the current contractor remains uninterrupted.

Uninterrupted service is imperative to provide prompt, appropriate, and responsive assistance to people with urgent and sensitive issues. NIMH lacks the internal capacity to handle this volume of requests efficiently, making the IRC an indispensable resource. It is critical to maintain a continuation of these services uninterrupted.

6. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to be fair and reasonable.