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Statement of Work

Project Title: NCI Center for Global Health, Logistics, Data Analysis and Technical Support

The purpose of this contract is to provide support for the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Global Health (CGH) activities in the following areas:

Logistical and administrative support for domestic and international meetings, conferences, and training events in accordance with U.S. Government guidelines (Task Areas 1 & 2).

Travel Arrangements for domestic and international meetings, conferences and training events including processing for US and non-US citizens (Non-Federal Travelers) in accordance with U.S.

Government guidelines and the Federal Travel Regulation (Task Areas 1 & 2).

Technical support for process, output, and outcome evaluations of CGH programs (Task Area 3).

Data and portfolio analysis, and production of accompanying reports (Task Area 4).

Science and technical writing, presentations, and documentation support (Task Area 5).

Background:

The Center for Global Health (CGH) supports NCI's goal to advance global cancer research, build expertise, and leverage resources across nations to address the challenges of cancer and reduce cancer deaths worldwide. Enabling the open exchange of scientific knowledge is a critical goal in the fight against cancer. CGH’s strategic priorities are:

• Strengthening Sustainable Cancer Research and Cancer Control Planning (includes capacity building)

• Creating and Sustaining Partnerships

• Monitoring Research Efforts and Disseminating Results

CGH facilitates research efforts to decrease the global burden of cancer by collaborating with U.S. government agencies, foreign governments, non-government organizations, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The primary functions of the Center are to:

• Develop research programs that facilitate collaborations between US and foreign investigators that answer cancer research questions;

• Strengthen U.S. national, regional, multilateral, and bilateral collaboration in global health research, cancer research, and cancer control;

• Train investigators and help develop research capacity in global health across the cancer continuum, both in the United States and in the developing world;

• Develop new scientific initiatives and programs that contribute to our understanding of cancer prevention, detection or management.

CGH engages in individual and group training activities that involve international exchanges of scientists that are aimed at increasing the world's capacity for cancer control and research. To respond to the broad mandate given to the NCI and to fulfill its own mission, CGH is in need of logistical conference/meeting/workshop support services; travel services to support its various projects and partnerships in international cancer control and research; program evaluation to determine the merit of training and other international programs; portfolio analyses to assess investment in various countries and in different relevant research areas; and preparation of documents to disseminate information about global cancer controls, evaluation results and analyses. Program evaluations will be utilized by the Government to determine if a program should continue, expand and/or change scope based on the assessed impact of the activity.

Technical 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 activities in the Statement of Work (SOW).

Contractor Tasks:

The contractor shall perform the following services, as specified in the individual task order.

Task 1: Logistical Support for Conferences and Meetings

Sub Task 1a: Arrange and pay for conferences/meetings/workshops (hereafter referred to as “events”) which will be held at various times and locations, including outside the U.S., throughout the year. The contractor shall conduct these events in accordance with applicable federal policies (https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/conference-policy/index.html). Generally, each event will require one facility and the number of such events will be approximately three to fifteen (3-15) per year. The contractor shall make logistical arrangements for each event including the coordination of meeting rooms, audiovisual support, advertisement/publicity, and on-site support, as specified in the task order.

Sub Task 1b: Disburse funds via check, wire transfer, or currency (U.S. or foreign) in conjunction with the event, including disbursal of funds outside the U.S. as needed, and keep appropriate records, based on US Federal Travel Regulations (HHSAR/FAR) https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/conference-policy/index.html https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/conference-policy/index.html and other applicable federal, state and local policies, to allow tracking of expenditures (in detail) associated with specific projects or program.

Sub Task 1c: Act as a point of contact between event participants and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), including, but not limited to, for the communication of logistics and travel information.

Sub Task 1d: Prepare event materials (e.g., agendas, background materials, lists of participants, and name badges) with delivery (e.g., via courier to the Shady Grove Maryland facility of CGH or delivery to the site with an approved shipping vendor as determined by the COR) in advance of the event. All meeting materials shall be approved by the CGH COR prior to final printing of materials for each supported event.

Sub Task 1e: Provide support for event participants who may be from the U.S. or any other country (Non-Federal Employees). The number of supported individuals will vary from one event to another and may range on average between two to thirty (2 – 30) participants. In some instances, support for a larger event, with up to 250 participants, may be required.

The objective of the travel support task is to arrange and provide for travel (domestic and international) for meeting or workshop program participants, registration assistance, flights and lodging accommodations; coordination of shuttle service or ground transportation in countries, in some instances, with high threat security; and subsistence allowances for participants.

A non-exhaustive list of examples of the type of support to be performed under this task area includes, but are not limited to:

i. Coordinate and manage travel arrangements (reservations).

ii. Develop and share with travelers complete detailed travel itineraries, both domestic and international.

iii. Investigate and report on a variety of temporary housing, transportation options specified to the needs of the program. Provide guidance and assistance to U.S. foreign travelers (e.g., obtaining passports and/or visas). Providing guidance and assistance to US and foreign travelers including visa assistance, as needed, in keeping with regulations of the Immigration & Naturalization Service and the National Institutes of Health/Division of International Services (NIH/DIS). If applicable, providing an invitation letter to travelers from CGH for visa purposes.

iv. Purchase airfare or other tickets for domestic or international travel, using federal regulations guideline (cost effectiveness, fly America Act., etc.).

v. Purchase and arrange ground transportation as required (taxi cabs, shuttle service, limousine service, and rental car).

vi. Arrange and prepay hotel or other lodging accommodations, both domestic and international, not to exceed the allowable federal government per diem rates. Receipts will be required and maintained for reimbursement in keeping with U.S. Government guidelines regarding maximum allowable accommodation costs.

vii. Pay appropriate allowance in advance as specified by the task order.

Supplying some non-federal participants with funds for travel costs in advance. Receipts will be required for reimbursement that shall be in keeping with U.S. Government travel guidelines. Before a contractor can disburse any funds for travel or site expenses, the contractor shall obtain the approved copy of the NIH Conference Travel Planning System (CTPS) or NIH Single Traveler Event Planning System (STEPS), and the Attachment A Conference Request (as applicable) from the CGH COR. Upon completion of each trip, the contractor shall collect receipts for any pre-approved reimbursable expenses, with a trip report using the template provided by CGH COR. The contractor shall process vouchers in keeping with U.S Government travel guidelines.

viii. Disbursing funds within and outside the U.S. to cover additional travel expenses in keeping with U.S. Government guidelines on allowable reimbursable travel expenses such as meals and incidentals, taxes, airport transfers and other ground transportation, registration fees, and visa costs, using the estimated travel costs discussed and agreed to by CGH prior to disbursement of funds by the contractor.

ix. Provide rapid response to changes in programs and unanticipated events. For example, response time may be less than one hour's notice for a transportation need.

Sub Task 1f: Transfer of funds as a lump sum via wire transfer or check to foreign or domestic partners with which CGH engages to co-organize and conduct specific research-related or cancer control-related activities involving events. The amount and recipient of such transfers will be defined by the CGH COR reflecting its commitment to a specific activity.

Sub Task 1g: As specified in the individual task order and coordinated with the COR, work with NCI domestic and foreign contractors for support of events, as needed to accomplish any of the objectives outlined in Task 1 and as specified by the task order.

Task 2: Logistical Support for Individual and Group Training Activities

SubTask 2a: Arrange and pay for training facilities as needed for CGH group training activities which may be held at various times and locations, including outside the U.S., throughout the year, in accordance with federal regulations.

Each group training activity will generally require one facility and may involve transporting trainers and/or trainees to the training site. The contractor shall make logistical arrangements for each training, including the coordination of training rooms, audiovisual support, advertisement/publicity, and on-site support, as needed and defined in conjunction with the COR.

SubTask 2b: Provide logistical support for individual training activities that involve transporting an individual trainee, who may be from the U.S. or any other country, to the site of his/her training experience either inside the U.S. or in another country.

In general, there may be fifty to one hundred fifty (50-150) such trainees within a contract year period.

SubTask 2c: Disburse funds via check, wire transfer, or currency (U.S. or foreign) as requested in conjunction with the training activities, including disbursal of funds outside the U.S., as needed, and keep appropriate records to allow tracking of detailed expenditures associated with training activities for specific projects or programs.

SubTask 2d: Act as a point of contact between participants in each training activity designated by the COR, including for communication of logistics and travel information for the specific activity.

SubTask 2e: Prepare, format and print training materials (e.g., agendas, training materials, lists of participants, name badges) with delivery (at a time designated by the COR) in advance of the training activity or to the site of the training as determined by the COR. Content for these materials will be developed and/or determined by CGH COR. All training materials shall be approved by the CGH COR prior to final printing of materials for each supported event.

SubTask 2f: Provide support for participants of group training activities who may be from the U.S. or a foreign country. The number of supported individuals will vary across training activities and may range from one (1) to sixty (60) (trainers plus trainees). In some instances, larger training activities with up to 150 participants may be required.

The objective of the travel support task is to arrange and provide for travel (domestic and international) for meeting or workshop program participants, registration assistance flights and lodging accommodations; coordination of shuttle service or ground transportation in countries, in some instances, with high threat security; and subsistence allowances for participants.

A non-exhaustive list of examples of the type of support to be performed under this task area includes, but are not limited to:

i. Coordinate and manage travel arrangements (reservations).

ii. Develop and share with travelers complete detailed travel itineraries, both domestic and international.

iii. Investigate and report on a variety of temporary housing, transportation options specified to the needs of the program. Provide guidance and assistance to U.S. foreign travelers (e.g., obtaining passports and/or visas). Providing guidance and assistance to US and foreign travelers, including visa assistance, as needed, in keeping with regulations of the Immigration & Naturalization Service and the National Institutes of Health/Division of International Services (NIH/DIS). If applicable, providing an invitation letter to travelers from CGH for visa purposes.

iv. Purchase airfare or other tickets for domestic or international travel, using federal regulations guideline (cost effectiveness, fly America Act, etc.).

v. Purchase and arrange ground transportation as required (taxi cabs, shuttle service, limousine service, and rental car).

vi. Arrange and prepay hotel or other lodging accommodations, both domestic and international, not to exceed the allowable federal government per diem rates. Receipts will be required and maintained for reimbursement in keeping with U.S. Government guidelines regarding maximum allowable accommodation costs.

vii. Pay appropriate allowance in advance as specified by the task order.

Supplying some non-federal participants with funds for travel costs in advance. Receipts will be required for reimbursement that shall be in keeping with U.S. Government travel guidelines. Before a contractor can disburse any funds for travel or site expenses, the contractor shall obtain the approved copy of the CTPS or STEPS, and the Attachment A Conference Request (as applicable) from the CGH COR.

Upon completion of each trip, the contractor shall collect receipts for any pre-approved reimbursable expenses, with a trip report using the template provided by CGH COR. The contractor shall process vouchers in keeping with U.S Government travel guidelines.

viii. Disbursing funds within and outside the U.S. to cover additional travel expenses in keeping with U.S. Government guidelines on allowable reimbursable travel expenses such as meals and incidentals, taxes, airport transfers and other ground transportation, registration fees, and visa costs, using the estimated travel costs discussed and agreed to by CGH prior to disbursement of funds by the contractor.

ix. As specified in a task order, disbursing funds to individual trainers or trainees as a subsistence allowance for training activities that require long periods of travel. Long periods of travel, for the purpose of subsistence allowance, are defined as those training activities that exceed four (4) weeks in duration. The subsistence allowance shall be disbursed instead of, rather than in addition to, the standard travel per diem (meals and incidentals) issued for shorter periods of travel.

x. Provide rapid response to changes in programs and unanticipated events. For example, response time may be less than one hour’s notice for transportation need.

Sub Task 2g: After approval by CGH COR, transfer of funds as a lump sum via wire transfer or check to foreign or domestic partners with which CGH engages to co-organize and conduct specific research-related or cancer control-related activities involving training/education and/or research/capacity building. The amounts and recipients of such transfers will be defined by the COR reflecting CGH’s commitment to a specific activity.

Task 3: Technical support for process and/or outcome evaluations of CGH programs The contractor shall provide support to develop, conduct and report outcomes (e.g., presentations, reports, manuscripts) of program evaluations, on an as-needed basis, and sometimes at a rapid response pace (in these cases, a contractor may be asked to provide work outside of normal business hours, however, these occurrences are very rare). The contractor will coordinate with the CGH COR, CGH Leadership, and evaluation staff to provide support for evaluation tasks. The list below includes examples, but is not exclusive of additional evaluation-related and reporting assistance that may be requested:

• Analyze and assess the effectiveness/productivity of initiatives/programs/projects supported CGH, including evaluation of management and technical strengths and weaknesses, recommendations for improvement; and a summary of the degree of success in meeting metrics, objectives, and schedules.

• Support the CGH evaluation staff by providing timely, quality evaluation services using established and innovative methods and employ methods in each evaluation project that are appropriate to the evaluation questions, timely, and cost effective in obtaining the primary or secondary data necessary to provide answers to the evaluation questions. The contractor shall obtain CGH staff approval of the methodology for evaluations prior to the evaluation being initiated. Examples of evaluation tasks may include, but are not limited to:

1. Review relevant scholarly literature to aid in evaluation design.

2. Design evaluations, as consistent with addressing the evaluation goals. These may include: bibliometrics, network analysis, surveys, interviews, secondary analysis of preexisting datasets, document analysis, and other approaches. Designs will include methods, sampling frame, sampling approach, data collection approach, and data analysis approach.

3. Construct data collection tools such as surveys (including development of new items and scales, as well as use of existing items and scales), interview guides, and qualitative data analysis codebooks.

4. Conduct cognitive testing, as needed, to revise survey instruments and interview guides.

5. Develop Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) packages, as needed, with guidance from CGH.

6. Design web-based surveys instruments and data systems using approved NCI systems.

7. Implement studies, including sampling, recruitment, and data collection.

8. Clean data, and provide databases and codebooks to NCI.

9. Analyze data and develop initial reports of findings, including tables and figures and text summaries of findings.

10. Collaborate with CGH staff to develop reports of evaluations, including writing sections of reports, presentation slides, and manuscripts. These may be posted publicly on the CGH webpage.

11. Explore converging approaches to assessing the impact or return on investment of

NCI-sponsored research in global health.

All data and related materials developed, delivered, administered, collected, acquired, or accrued as a result of an NCI-related evaluation activity shall be provided to the COR within seven (7) business days of completion of the individual evaluation. The COR will determine where and how the data or evaluation results are presented or disseminated. Authorship shall be determined in conjunction with CGH evaluation leads.

Task 4: Data and portfolio analysis, and production of accompanying reports.

The contractor shall provide data support to compile, analyze, and prepare written reports on global health grant portfolios as specified in the individual task order. Tasks may include, but are not limited to:

• Extracting data from NCI systems (Query/View/Report (QVR), NIH Reporter, World Report, International Cancer Research Portfolio (ICRP), etc.).

• Use of Excel, SAS, and other software systems for data analysis.

• Preparing formatted data reports with accompanying narratives and graphics.

• Communicating the impact summary of NCI intramural and extramural research program to a variety of audiences.

• Collecting Trip Reports from US and non-US travelers for all processed foreign travels (template shall be provided as part of the RFP).

The data requests will be on an ad-hoc basis and are estimated to be in the range of 10-30 reports per year.

The contractor shall provide to the COR the following related to global cancer investments at CGH, NCI and NIH, across other agencies of the US Government, and other data sources as determined by CGH: 1) data reports retrieved from relevant NIH/NCI data sources including, but not limited to, QVR, NIH Reporter and others (system access will be provided, as necessary), and 2) data synthesis, analysis, recommendations, and narrative to accompany data and grant portfolio assessments. The contractor shall prepare include graphic representations (pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, etc.) of the Institute’s research portfolio and written analysis narrative as required by CGH. Portfolio analyses may require keyword text searches, project abstract review, and coding to a specific framework, which may need to be developed. The contractor shall have familiarity with tools such as QVR and Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT). The contractor shall provide the reports and graphs, as needed, within an agreed upon time period specified by the CGH COR.

The contractor shall prepare all documents intended for Web site posting to meet all Section 508 accessibility requirements, as described elsewhere in this SOW.

Task 5: Science and technical writing, presentations, and documentation support

CGH produces a variety of documents and publications each year, targeted at a number of audiences (most frequently Congress, advocates, scientists, NCI leadership and the American and global publics). The contractor shall provide scientific and technical writing support to be included in NCI prepared documents, NCI publications, and CGH Web site content. CGH estimates the volume of these requests to be approximately 5-10 per year.

Clearance shall be obtained from the Public Affairs office, as appropriate, prior to release.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

1. CGH biennial report

2. Summary of NIH global funding opportunities

The following section is applicable, as specified on individual task orders. The contractor shall support the transitions “in” for any ongoing tasks and transitions “out” of any activities, as appropriate.

BASE CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

After the formal contract initiation, the contractor shall provide monthly updates to the COR and any relevant CGH program staff as delegated by the COR by teleconference (ZOOM platform preferred). The updates will include discussion of the status of individual task orders ongoing, any issues in the progress of the task orders and next steps. The discussion of the initiation of new task orders may be included by the COR, as applicable. Material to be discussed during the monthly update shall be delivered by email from the contractor to the COR, no later than 48 hours in advance of the meetings. Materials include, but are not limited to: Status updates for each task, organized by task area; a meeting tracker; and travel documentation (Excel spreadsheet that itemizes the meetings supported and the travelers supported - format to be specified by the CGH COR and provided as part of the RFP).

On occasion, the contractor will be required to be on site at CGH, as requested, for an individual task order activity. Notice of these onsite requirements will be provided with a 48-hour advanced notice.

Other requirements will be specified at the individual task level.

TRANSITION IN

As specified in an individual task order, the contractor shall submit a proposal that will support transfer of ongoing activities and products from NCI and establish an acceptable schedule for any “transition in” activities.

TRANSITION OUT

As specified on the individual task order, the contractor shall be responsible for preparing and submitting a “Transition Out Plan” to the COR sixty (60) calendar days prior to completion of the task order. For each task order, the contractor shall work with the COR to finalize the “Transition Out Plan” for transfer of ongoing activities and products to NCI and to establish an acceptable schedule.

As applicable to each individual task order, the Transition Out Plan shall include:

1. Data Management: Outline any remaining data issues for the evaluations and technical documentation that is ongoing and to be completed by the end of the period of performance.

2. Document Management: Inventory of the documents, data sets, evaluations, web documents and analyses, conference/meeting/workshop/training documentation created by the contractor for the task order and any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) followed in the creation of the documents.

3. A meeting tracker and travel documentation: Excel spreadsheet that itemizes the meetings supported and the travelers supported (format to be specified by the CGH

COR).

The contractor shall submit all deliverables in accordance with the contract and/or task order schedule. The contractor shall also obtain all required clearances and adhere to policies and procedures for all work accomplished under this contract, including but not limited to:

Information Security requirements (e.g., Federal Information Security Management Act, Federal Information Processing Standard), Section 508 requirements, Public Affairs clearance, and Printing policies.