Request for Information.pdf

Clinical Informatics and Data Management Office Regulatory Affairs Request for Information

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Health Informatics (OHI)

Clinical Informatics Office Department of Regulatory Affairs

Request for Information

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.201(e)), this is not a solicitation, a solicitation is not available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted, or respond to any questions or comments that may be submitted in response to this RFI. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government and does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

The purpose of this RFI is to conduct market research to obtain information on potential market capability to provide neutral industry support as a convenor to establish and provide professional facilitation and management of an open community of interest composed of stakeholders in the information system supporting Veteran care, advancing technical solutions, business practices, community standards and regulatory frameworks of shared priorities.

Additionally, the Government aims to determine if any existing contract vehicles for executing tasks would be a viable pathway. The details of this requirement can be found in the Attachment A: Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS). Responses to this RFI may influence the chosen acquisition strategy (including Veteran-owned, Service-disabled Veteran-owned, and other small business participation, and vehicles and methods to acquire the services).

1. The VA is requesting input from all vendors, with all socioeconomic statuses, however, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) are encouraged to respond. The VA is requesting vendor capability to deliver all required support, along with experience/past work specified in the PWS. The Government requests that vendors respond using the INSTRUCTIONS provided in this Request for Information. Responses should “demonstrate” capability, not just “confirm” the company’s belief that the capability exists or could exist.

2. The VA does not intend to award a contract as a result of this RFI, but rather gather capabilities and market information pertinent for acquisition planning. Responses to this RFI will be captured as market research and may contribute to the development of an acquisition strategy. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.

The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFI

CONFIDENTIALITY: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Response Format/Page Limitations:

The overall total page limit for responses to this RFI is fifteen (15) pages. Responses should be submitted in Microsoft Word format with 12 pt. or greater font size. Interested parties should limit marketing material in order to allow sufficient space for adequately, directly, and substantively responding with the information of most interest to the Government. Responses may also optionally include the provision of resumes of qualified personnel that demonstrate expertise in the domains. Resumes will not count towards the page limit.

In all correspondence relevant to this RFI please identify the RFI number and “Interoperability Roadmap” (in the response and the Subject Line of the email).

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Respondents are requested to limit responses to the information, and in the format provided below.

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

a. Organization Name.

b. Company ownership (public, private, joint venture).

c. Business size designation in accordance with Small Business Administration (SBA) standards for the recommended NAICS code (541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services).

B. CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE INFORMATION

Interested firms are requested to provide Capability Statements addressing the following data/information, by the closing date.

a. Company name

b. Company address

c. Company Point-of-Contact (POC)

d. Company phone, fax, and email address

e. Company Tax ID Number (TIN)

f. Company CAGE Code and SAM Unique Entity ID

g. Type/Size of Business relative to NAICS Code 541611. If you suggest a more accurate NAICS, as it relates to the services noted herein, please provide it as well.

h. Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Number (if applicable), meaning your FSS pertains to Clinical Informatics and Health Data Management.

i. Statement of Capability highlighting any specific expertise relevant to the PWS.

C. DETAILED CAPABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE

In addition to providing your company’s capability statement as it pertains to the requirements of this RFI, interested and capable firms are also required to provide answers to the following questions. All responses should indicate relevancy to the

PWS.

1. How do you assure the appropriate level of rigor and quality in work products produced under your stewardship?

2. How do you ensure impartiality when managing and facilitating stakeholder forums?

3. What potential contract mechanisms would you suggest might be able to meet the

Government’s requirements?

4. Describe your experience with administering Communities of Practice (CoP).

Responses shall include:

a. Three (3) examples within the last eighteen (18) months where Respondent successfully established and/or matured a CoP with twenty (20) or more members within one (1) or both of the health care and health IT industries from inception to a sustainable state. Responses must include specific strategies employed for:

i. Maintaining existing and building new collaborative relationships with professional organizations relevant to the CoP in health care and/or health IT industry.

ii. Engaging and maintaining existing relationships to advance national digital health priorities and remain neutral and impartial.

iii. Attracting, engaging, and retaining broad stakeholders from the general public, especially the health care and/or health IT industry.

iv. Demonstrated ability to establish and enforce a governance mechanism within the CoP that effectively mitigates the risk of undue influence by any member, addressing conflicts of interest and maintaining transparency and integrity in all community activities.

v. Managing complex projects that employ robust project management practices, clear timelines, deliverables, and risk management strategies.

b. At least one (1) example within the last four (4) years of a proven experience establishing, maturing, and advancing a CoP to sustainability.

c. Description of substantial industry reach and impact, to include a reference.

5. Describe your experience with community-driven use case identification, prioritization, and elaboration. Responses shall include:

a. At least one (1) proven recent example that details experience and effectiveness in managing a CoP through critical states of use-case development.

b. Provide detail of the processes and tools employed for identification and prioritization, facilitation of community collaboration – including methods to determine value streams and balance competing interests to achieve consensus, and the outcomes of these use cases.

c. Description of approach to undertaking and managing parallel work activities within the CoP.

6. Describe your experience with implementation guidance & best practices.

a. At least one (1) recent example of previous successes in publication of CoP-driven implementation guidance and best practices to include a description of the industry impact. This should include description of the development publication process of a new version of an implementation guide or standard according to organizational policies and procedures of the governing standards development organization.

b. At least one (1) example that provides evidence of previous work that has contributed to the advancement of national standards related to the focus areas of the CoP. This should include specific examples of involvement in standard-setting activities, collaboration with national standards bodies, and the tangible impact of contributions on the development and implementation of these standards.

c. Description of how the Respondent has impacted health IT on a broad scale on behalf of its administered CoP including quantitative and qualitative evidence where feasible.

7. Describe your experience with reference implementations and pilot projects.

a. Description of how CoP’s reference implementations are fostered, developed, and stewarded under the Respondent’s administration. Descriptions should include the following:

i. Technical infrastructure available to support these activities.

ii. Contributor policies including intellectual property considerations.

iii. Roles and responsibilities of the Respondent, CoP, and CoP participants in developing and releasing reference implementations.

iv. Facilitation of “Hackathons/Connectathons”.

b. At least one (1) specific recent example that outlines experience advancing projects to sustainability that improve and expand the existing infrastructure, software tools, and governance supporting the development and maintenance of health IT infrastructure (eg, Fast Health Interoperability Resources (FHIR), profiles and IGs).

8. Describe your experience with the National Health IT Public Policy landscape.

a. Description of the approaches leveraged toward CoP’s sustained long-term engagement and influence in the national health IT public policy arena, including strategies for ongoing capacity building, knowledge sharing within the community, stakeholder meetings, workshops and consultations, and the development of public policy recommendations grounded in robust data and best practices.

b. At least one (1) example of a recent contribution by the CoP to national health IT public policy initiatives, including documented examples of success.

D. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Respondents may optionally identify other activities, capabilities, or deliverables they believe would be of benefit to this tasking.

The purpose of this RFI is for Market Research and to gather input for use in further defining the requirement only, and to identify interested and potentially capable vendors.

Submission: Responses to this RFI shall be submitted to SAC-E via email to Shaundrica.Close@va.gov no later than 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Friday, October 4, 2024.

Questions: No Questions are being accepted at this time. Depending upon the responses received, VA may request additional information, may conduct future question and answer sessions, or may conduct meetings or an industry day.

52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This Request is issued for the purpose of: Information.

(End of provision)

Please see Attachment A, Performance Work Statement