Meeting, Scientific and Administrative Support Services (MSASS), Request for Proposal (RFP)

The United States Congress directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to manage appropriations totaling over $10 Billion, since fiscal year 1992 (FY92), for intramural and extramural programs directed toward targeted medical research initiatives.  The USAMRMC is responsible for administering these targeted research program appropriations.   

The DOD Breast Cancer Research Program was established in FY92 by Appropriations Conference Committee Report No 102-328, which provided $25 Million (M) for research on breast cancer screening and diagnosis for military women and their family members.  In 1993 grassroots efforts by the breast cancer survivors and advocacy communities led to a FY93 congressional appropriation of $210M for peer reviewed breast cancer research. 

The CDMRP sought the advice of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) on how to best invest the $210M congressional appropriation.  While the IOM made several important recommendations, a pivotal one outlining a two-tier review process for evaluating and selecting research applications has become a cornerstone within CDMRP.  This novel two-tiered process involves reviewing every research application for scientific merit as well as programmatic relevance. 

The first tier of the two-tier review process is peer review.  Peer review is a criteria-based process where applications are evaluated based on their scientific and technical merit.  Applications are evaluated by scientific discipline, specialty area, or award mechanism by scientific, technical and consumer peer reviewers. 

The second tier of review is programmatic review.  Applications are programmatically reviewed by members of the programs’ Programmatic Panel.  Programmatic review is a comparison-based process in which applications from multiple research areas compete in a common pool.  Programmatic review balances the potential outcomes and risks of scientifically meritorious applications.

In January 2014, CDMRP was assigned as the lead office to consolidate all execution management for the USAMRMC as part of a USAMRMC Headquarters multi-year reengineering effort.  The CDMRP worked with the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center and the Joint Program Committees to consolidate all execution management into one EMA for USAMRMC.