D_Attachment 1 Statement of Work Services_NIMH Grant Workshop 10.27.2023.pdf

Version 11-30-2016-1 FAR Part 11—Describing Agency Needs

STATEMENT OF WORK (SERVICES)

(SOW)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Title of Project:

NIMH Grant Writing Workshop/Support

Statement of Need and Purpose:

The NIMH Office of Fellowship Training (OFT) requires training services for an annual Grant Writing Workshop. The training will be provided to Postdoctoral and Faculty level participants who intend to submit a grant proposal in the next fiscal year. The training will be delivered in three parts to include: 1) a Grant Overview Session (for postdocs, postbacs, predocs and PIs) that addresses basic fundamentals of grant writing, and funding institutions/mechanisms, 2) a Preparation and Instruction component (for postdocs, PIs, senior staff) that addresses crafting important sections of the grant proposal and 3) individual and groups consultations on assignments with experts for grant writing, science writing applicable to identified targeted grant mechanisms (K99/R00, K22, Foundation grants).

Background Information and Objective:

The NIMH Office of FellowshipTraining (OFT) is responsible for the oversight of research training and career/ professional development resources for approximately 250 trainees in the Intramural Research Program (IRP). OFT provides guidance to Principal Investigators and other staff in mentoring roles to ensure that there is consistency across labs with the overall fellowship experience. One of the fundamental objectives of the office is to develop training courses to help fellows advance to the next career stage. A ciritical training course that OFT must provide annually is Grant Writing and common areas that are addressed include critical elements of grants, funding institutions and writing tactics. To effectively cover all of the important grant topics, a multistep series approach is taken in the form of seminars and workshops to give fellows and instructors the opportunity to have both didactic and interactive sessions.

To support the training of Postdoctoral fellows and Faculty/Senior Staff, the IRP is in need of a grant focused workshop that will provide an inclusive grants experience for junior and senior level individuals.

These workshops will be geared toward learning about the critical elements of grants, the different grant types, understanding funding announcements and assembling grant applications for NIH and external sources. Grant types such as Public Health Service Grants, PHS 398, including Research Career Awards, Institutional National Research Service Awards, Foundation grants and international funding opportunities will be the focus.

Period of Performance:

The anticipated period of performance is as follows:

Base Year: 1/8/2024 to 1/7/2025

Option Year 1: 1/8/2025 to 1/7/2026

Option Yer 2: 1/8/2026 to 1/7/2027

SCOPE OF WORK

General Requirements:

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below:

Specific Requirements:

The contractor must have extensive knowledge and experience with the grant writing process. In specific, it is preferred that the contractor have a history of working with NIH and private foundation grants and also have familiarity with NIH mandated changes for the grant application format.

The workshops will focus on how to generate novel ideas, prepare the grant application, and address the structure and methods neccesary to construct a successful grant that will be funded and fully supported.

The Grantsmanship Series should encompass the following 3 components and cover the below topics as follows to occur over a period of several months from February to September:

Phase 1: Grantsmanship Overview (Basics of Grant writing)

- Instruction should be focused on the NIH grants process, the elements of a successful grant, strategy, writing and communication of research. Offering should be a mix of lecture and interactive features (e.g. break out sessions, questions, exercises etc) to make the best use of the training environment. This workshop offering can happen over multiple sessions in the same day (e.g. morning and afternoon sessions).

Phase 2: Crafting a Competitive Application (K22/K99, Foundation grants etc)

- Instruction should focus on specifics of the grant application which include the Biosketch, Specific

Aims, Project Summary, Candidate section and Institutional Environment.

Phase 3: Crafting a Competitive Application (K22/K99, Foundation grants etc), Assignments & Consultations

- Instruction should focus on specifics of the grant application which include the Research Strategy, Human Subjects, and Vertebrate Animals. This phase of the workshop will include assignments and consultations with participants to provide feedback on grant application components.

Participants should have access to a science writer who will assist with written critiques of grant application.

The workshop must involve individual and group consultations with the contractor to allow participants the opportunity to engage with instructors. Scheduling of one to one meetings must be flexible and tailored to the needs of individual participants. The purpose of the consultation component is to target postdoctoral level fellows and/or PIs and maximize the likelihood of success on the their submission by attending directly to their needs. During the individual consultation sessions, facilitators must provide feedback to participants on their grant proposal that is relevant to their application and funding institution. An adequate follow up time line must be discussed between facilitators and participants to allow for changes to be made and a revised proposal to be presented again for evaluation.

The frequency of the individual consultations is subject to the needs of each of the fellows who participate in the grantsmanship training series. However, the contractor should dedicate a 2 to 3 month time frame to provide at least monthly feedback and any other instructional assistance to fellows who require this service to improve the final proposal. At the end of the individual consultations, each participant will have completed a full grant application (NIH K99/R00, K22/K23, NSF and other foundational grants).

LEVEL OF EFFORT:

N/A

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

For the Grantsmanship Series, the NIMH Office of Fellowship Training (OFT) will take responsibility for announcing the workshop to trainees and faculty, and creating/monitoring the registration website. OFT will communicate with the vendor on workshop logistics to include registration numbers and institute details. OFT will handle the room reservations for the series of trainings since the expectation is for the vendor to provide the workshops in person; at least one of the facilitators will need to be in person for workshops. Individual consultations are to be conducted through regular communication methods (e.g. e-mail, zoom etc). The government will ensure that workshop agendas and evaluations are distributed to participants.The government will not be responsible for travel arrangements of personnel staff to the NIH site for workshops as travel is not applicable for this contract.

DELIVERY OR DELIVERABLES

The contractor is required to perform the following functions to deliver the services required for the grantsmanship program as outlined below. The contractor is expected to:

i. Address both practical and conceptual topics relating to the grant proposal process. These include but are not limited to the Biosketch, Specific Aims, Candidate Section, Description of

Institutional Environment Research Plan, and Project Summary/Narrative.

ii. Focus on good grantsmanship strategies and relay information to participants in a professional manner.

iii. Develop an agenda and workshop instructional plan that meets all of the topics listed in the scope of work as mandatory information to be presented to the participants for a successful grant proposal writing process. The desired period for the workshop series to occur within is February to September 2024, and annually thereafter.

iv. Propose a feasible schedule that covers both the instructional and consultation components required for the progression of the program.

v. Provide grant application supplemental materials (detailed handout, guide etc) to each of the participants as a resource to use throughout the program. It must include guidance specific to the NIH grant application format.

vi. Send all materials (agenda, evaluations, slide presentation) to the NIMH Office of Fellowship

Training ahead of the scheduled session.

vii. Provide assignments to participants relevant to important grant application sections to facilitate a hands-on learning environment where fellows can obtain the best experience.

viii. Provide program evaluations to the participants to obtain feedback on usefulness and application of grantsmanship workshops.

ix. Provide a team of staff (at least three professionals) that are knowledgeable and have experience with successful grant submissions. Staff must also have expertise in science writing and be able to deliver feedback through relevant critiques of full grant proposals as well as specific sections of the grant application (Specific Aims,Research Plan, Biosketch etc). This component is crucial to this requirement since this workshop requires multiple professionals who are proficient in the grant application process along with science writing.

x. Have availability to meet with participants in both group and individual settings to promote discussion of strengths and areas for development. Meetings will need to happen virtually given the current nature of business.

xi. Deliver the three part workshop with consultation component over the stipulated period of time and work with NIMH staff to use onsite conference facilities. The contractor must be able to engage junior (Postbacs, Predocs) and senior trainees (Postdocs) as well as faculty (Principal

Investigators).

Timely submission of deliverables is essential to successful completion of the grantsmanship program requirement. All deliverables shall be prepared and submitted according to format, content, and schedule described in the SOW.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The contractor is required to keep open communication with the NIMH Office of Fellowship Training for the duration of the grantsmanship series.

On a monthly basis, the contractor is required to provide progress reports for the participants over the anticipated February to September timeframe. The progress report must include all work completed during each period and present the work to be completed during the subsequent phases of the program.

Additionally, the report should also identify any issues that arose and state the steps to resolve the problem. The report should also include any adjustments to the participant volume as far as any changes to the initial roster.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Travel:

The government will not be responsible for contractor travel. There will be no reimbursement of travel related costs incurred by the contractor.

Key Personnel:

The contractor must have first-hand experience and success that indicates mastery in the grant proposal writing process. In specific, the exact areas are as follows:

i. The contractor shall provide an executive grantsmanship specialist team that will be considered the primary “key personnel” in support of this initiative. This individual(s) will conduct the training and consultation with the participants enrolled in the series from beginning to end.

ii. The contractor must have extensive experience with the National Institutes of Health

(NIH) grant process including any recent NIH instituted changes to the grant application.

iii. The key personnel must have a thorough understanding of the grant procedures and application of particular NIH funding mechanisms (NIH K99/R00, K22/K23, NSF and other private foundation grants).

iv. The key personnel for the grant component must have 20 to 30 years of grant writing experience within the biomedical research field and be able to demonstrate a successful track record.

v. The key personnel for delivery of the grants component must have a minimum of a Ph.D., MD or equivalent and vast experience with the grant proposal and writing process as it applies to new investigators. The key personnel for the science writing component must have at least a bachelor’s degree and be knowledgeable in writing and have more than 5 years experience in writing and editing in a professional capacity.

vi. The key personnel must have experience working with the NIH Intramural Research

Program and trainee community which includes Principal Investigators, Postbacs, Predocs and Postdoc fellows.

Information System Security Plan:

Data Rights:

The NIMH shall have unlimited rights and ownership of deliverables provided by the contractor which include participant critiques, program evaluations, progress reports, and recommendations. Any other data produced or used in meeting contract requirements is also subject to the NIMH Office of Fellowship Training records.

Section 508—Electronic and Information Technology Standards:

Publications and Publicity:

Confidentiality of Information: