Notice_of_Intent_1.pdf

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Solicitation Number: 75N94023Q00087 Solicitation Type: Sole Source (Non-Competitive) Title: NIMHD: Services: Application of Simulation Model in Neighborhood

Research Study NAICS / Size Standard: 611310/ 34.5 Million

Introduction

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive sole source basis to Research Foundation of the City University of New York to provide services to support the Application of Simulation Model in Neighborhood Research Study.

Background Information

The NIH Laboratory in the Population and Community Sciences Branch, Division of Intramural Research (DIR), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) focuses on investigating the roles of neighborhood social environments in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors attributed by racial and ethnic minorities. One specific focus is the evaluation of adverse neighborhood social contexts using geographic information systems (GIS) coupled with global positioning system (GPS) technologies to elucidate mechanisms by which specific environmental characteristics impact cardiovascular disease risk and outcomes in multi-ethnic, population-based cohorts, as well as young and older adults. Additionally, our lab applies a real-time ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to better understand how psychosocial stressors influence health behaviors, such as physical activity and sedentary behaviors.

This project requires the development of a simulation model (i.e., agent-based model or similar models) to investigate the impact of adverse neighborhood social contexts, such as exposure to crime and limited perceived safety on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, including physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep health, psychosocial factors, and biomarkers of CVD risk. Throughout this project, decision-makers in an established, partnering community advisory board will provide input on design, data dissemination, and relevance of findings to practitioners/policymakers. Combining temporally dense, complex "big data" in a systems model could accelerate the development and implementation of multi-faceted environmental interventions to control crime and perceived safety as stressors, facilitate physical activity (PA), reduce obesity, and subsequently reduce CVD risk.

This requirement will provide services for the highly specialized computer programming needed to further use the simulation model to investigate mechanisms by which specific environmental characteristics influence physical activity and biomarkers of CVD among Black and White American adults (in a total of 100 participants) residing across Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. They will also plan to simulate the impact and cost-effectiveness of a multilevel intervention design focused on reducing crime, improving perceived safety and psychosocial factors, changing the availability of PA opportunities, and combinations of these approaches to reduce CVD risk.

Purpose and Objectives

The NIH Laboratory in the Population and Community Sciences Branch, Division of Intramural Research (DIR), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) requires an established simulation analyst team to conduct high-impact, efficient data management/cleaning and analyses of population-based cohort data to examine individual demographic, neighborhood environment, and psychosocial factors that impact adverse CVD risk factors in the Application of Simulation Model in Neighborhood Research Study.

Period of Performance

The Period of Performance will be September 5, 2023 through September 4, 2024 with the potential for two option years as follows:

Option Year 1: September 5, 2024 through September 4, 2025 Option Year 2: September 5, 2025 through September 4, 2026

Contractor Requirements

The contractor shall provide a stimulation model that adheres to the following requirements:

• The contractor shall identify the necessary adverse neighborhood-level data (e.g., crime, violence, homicides, blight, gentrification, neighborhood disinvestment) characteristics for Washington, D.C.

or similar urban areas from publicly available sources.

• The contractor shall finalize components of the neighborhood measures and decision-making process with the NIMHD.

• The contractor shall develop a model of Washington D.C. or other agreed-upon locations representing different adverse neighborhood-level characteristics to simulate and test different changes to the environment (e.g., built and social) of different neighborhoods and populations.

• The contractor shall develop and use the model to evaluate the health and economic impact of different neighborhood-level interventions (e.g., changes to the built or social environment) on CVD outcomes (e.g., change to biomarkers of CVD). The simulation model will help key stakeholders (including the NIMHD lab) design and test various neighborhood measures, and intervention policies.

• The contractor shall document and establish protocols for the development of the simulation models.

• The contractor shall Iteratively develop a model to test a range of different interventions.

• The contractor shall attend and participate with NIMHD in bi-weekly or as needed. communication by email and phone to track progress and discuss conceptual and methodological issues.

Deliverables

The contractor shall deliver (1) Simulation model linked with social and built environment measures; and

(2) documentation about the simulation model and simulation experiment results for publication.

Certifications, Licenses, Or Other Expertise Required

The contractor must have:

• Minimum of 10 years of related work experience in systems science

• Master's or Doctoral degree in Medicine or Public Health

• NIH Intramural Experience

• Working knowledge of complex simulation analyses

Sole Source Justification

The contractor and Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research (PHICOR) team have over two decades of experience in mathematical and computational modeling in the fields of public health and medicine. The contractor and the PHICOR team are housed in the City University of New York School of Public Health. The lab at the NIMHD continues working with the PHICOR team, providing essential services that minimize errors, variance, and tolerance in this study. The contractor is the Co-PI for the AIMINGS Center (Artificial Intelligence, Modeling, and Informatics for Nutrition Guidance and Systems) which serves as the AI Center for the Nutrition for Precision Health Consortium, an NIH initiative.

Regulatory Authority

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 13.106-1(b) Soliciting from a single source. (1) For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, or industrial mobilization).

FAR Clauses

The provision at FAR clause 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, is applicable. The Government will award a contract resulting from this notice to the offeror listed above. The following factors shall be used to evaluate the offer: The contractor shall demonstrate its ability to provide the detector listed that meets the specifications provided above.

FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items, is applicable. An offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certificates electronically via http://www.acquisition.gov. If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the System for Award Management (SAM) website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (p) of this provision.

FAR clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

FAR clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract, is applicable to this award as follows:

http://www.acquisition.gov/

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within the terms of this contract; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend 10 days prior to contract expiration. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed three (3) years.

Additional Information

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 611310 and the Small Business Size Standard is 34.5 Million. This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, therefore the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competitive Requirements, are not applicable and the resultant award will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 effective June 2, 2023.

This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

All responses must be received by July 18, 2023 5:00 PM ET and must reference solicitation number.

75N94023Q00087. Responses shall be submitted electronically to nicole.freid@nih.gov. Responses will only be accepted if dated and signed by an authorized company representative. All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.

http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:nicole.freid@nih.gov