This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SBSS). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small business; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Project Description and Requirements: Long COVID is a chronic condition in which people continue to experience persistent, varying, and potentially disabling health impacts after their acute COVID-19 illness. Dedicated outpatient Long COVID clinics have emerged across the nation to provide coordinated, multidisciplinary care that meets the complex, diverse, multi-system, and specialized needs of people with Long COVID. While filling a critical need, Long COVID clinics face significant challenges such as staffing shortages, long patient waitlists, lack of funding or reimbursement for some services, lack of clear treatment protocols, limited capacity to provide timely, comprehensive, coordinated and person-centered care, and limited clinician knowledge and training in Long COVID management. Further, people with Long COVID experience access barriers and delayed care due to the limited number or capacity of Long COVID clinics and specialists, concentration of clinics in academic centers and urban areas, late recognition of Long COVID symptoms by clinicians, and delayed referral to Long COVID clinics or appropriate specialists. In recognition of the care delivery and access challenges faced by Long COVID clinics and people with Long COVID, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) intends to fund up to nine, five-year grants to multidisciplinary Long COVID clinics in the United States to (1) expand access to comprehensive, coordinated, and person-centered care for people with Long COVID, particularly underserved, rural, vulnerable, or minority populations that are disproportionately impacted by the effects of Long COVID, and (2) support the primary care community in Long COVID education and management. The full funding announcement can be found at RFA-HS-23-012: Implementing and Evaluating New Models for Delivering Comprehensive, Coordinated, Person-Centered Care to People with Long COVID (U18) (nih.gov). The purpose of this contract is to promote success and peer-to-peer learning of grantees participating in AHRQ’s Long COVID clinic initiative, evaluate success of the overall initiative, and disseminate findings. Under this contract, the Contractor shall (1) engage stakeholders, (2) build and support a learning community (LC), (3) collect, curate, and share resources and tools, (4) design and conduct an initiative evaluation, (5) develop and disseminate communication materials, and (6) provide project management. Overview of Tasks Task 1: Engage Stakeholders The Contractor shall engage stakeholders to advise AHRQ and the Contractor over the course of the project. Specifically, the Contractor shall: Develop a stakeholder engagement plan Identify and recruit 25-40 stakeholders with expertise, experience, and/or influential roles related to care delivery for people with Long COVID, including health system and practice leaders, subject matter experts, public and private payers and policymakers, representatives of healthcare professional associations/societies, and people with Long COVID, families, caregivers, and advocates Convene at least three virtual stakeholder meetings in each project year to solicit feedback on targeted topics and provide all planning, logistics, facilitation, and notetaking for meetings Engage with stakeholders outside of meetings to solicit input across project tasks, expertise to address grantee and initiative needs, reviews of project materials, assistance with communication and dissemination, and other assistance needed to meet project goals Prepare a Stakeholder Engagement report that summarizes stakeholder input on considerations for designing and implementing comprehensive, coordinated, person-centered care delivery models for people with Long COVID and educating and supporting the primary care community in Long COVID management Provide honoraria to eligible stakeholders Task 2: Build and Support a Learning Community (LC) The Contractor shall build, convene, and lead an interactive, collaborative LC consisting of representatives from each grantee team. Through the LC, the Contractor shall support and facilitate grantees’ ability to engage in peer‐to‐peer learning, share best practices and successes, collectively problem‐solve challenges, and gain knowledge, subject matter expertise, and resources from beyond grantees’ institutions. The Contractor shall also use the LC meetings to discuss cross-grantee evaluation topics, share relevant information from other project tasks, and share relevant initiative-related information and announcements. Specifically, the Contractor shall: Convene one hybrid (in-person, virtual) two-day LC meeting in each project year, with the in-person meeting anticipated to take place at AHRQ headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. The Contractor shall provide lodging and travel assistance to in-person attendees, including recommending nearest hotels, airports, and other travel options, reserving a block of hotel rooms, and arranging a shuttle between the hotel and meeting location Convene eight (8) to eleven (11) virtual LC meetings in each year Provide all planning, logistics, facilitation, and notetaking for LC meetings Provide a speaker/subject matter expert for each meeting, as needed, with expertise in topics such as Long COVID care delivery models (or care models for patients with complex or chronic conditions); care coordination; improving access and quality of care for underserved, vulnerable, and minority populations; primary care provider education and consultative care support (e.g., e-consults); or technology support (e.g., telehealth, EHRs, mobile health) Collect grantee feedback on LC effectiveness in meeting grantee needs, modify approaches as needed based on feedback, and submit a biannual report of grantee feedback on LC activities and any modifications to future LC activities to best meet grantee needs. Task 3: Collect, Curate, and Share Resources and Tools The Contractor shall collect resources and tools for curating and sharing across grantees, including (1) resources and tools identified by the contractor through ongoing surveillance of peer-reviewed and grey literature on Long COVID care delivery topics (e.g., emerging Long COVID care delivery models, Long COVID care delivery guidelines, strategies for improving care access for underserved, rural, vulnerable, and minority populations with Long COVID), (2) resources and tools identified or created by grantees, AHRQ, stakeholder groups, or other external experts, and (3) resources and tools created by the Contractor under other project tasks. The Contractor shall ensure that collected resources and tools are scientifically rigorous and transparent and raise no questions about conflicts of interest about the authors or publishers. The Contractor shall curate collected resources and tools in a searchable, cumulative inventory, update the inventory quarterly, and share the initial inventory and quarterly inventory updates with grantees through the LC. Task 4: Design and Conduct an Initiative Evaluation The Contractor shall conduct a rigorous, mixed-methods, cross-grantee evaluation to assess the overall success of the Long COVID initiative in expanding access to comprehensive, coordinated, person-centered care for people with Long COVID, particularly underserved, rural, vulnerable, or minority populations, and supporting the primary care community in Long COVID education and management. The Contractor shall evaluate (1) grantees’ care delivery models, implementation strategies, and operational workflow; (2) barriers and facilitators to implementation; (3) mitigation strategies for implementation challenges; (4) effectiveness of implementation strategies overall and across different patient subgroups (e.g., across sociodemographic profiles) and clinic sites (if multiple sites involved), including performance on reach, structure and process, and impact measures; (5) effectiveness of primary care outreach strategies; and (6) likely factors needed to sustain the implemented care delivery model after funding ends. To minimize bias in the evaluation, the Contractor shall form a separate Evaluation Team comprising members who are not involved in other project tasks. In conducting the evaluation, the Contractor shall: Develop an evaluation plan that details their approach to performing the evaluation Conduct a quantitative evaluation using data on the reach, structure and process, and impact measures that grantees are required to report and suggest additional data elements, measure domains, and measures if they think these are necessary to assess initiative success. The Contractor shall work with grantees to confirm feasibility of data elements and measures; harmonize a core set of data elements and measures across grantees; harmonize data collection standards; make any essential grantee-specific modifications; and determine data submission frequency and schedules that will allow periodic assessment of progress, challenges, or delays, without placing excessive reporting burden on grantees. Prepare qualitative data collection instruments or protocols and conduct a qualitative evaluation using various qualitative data collection approaches such as virtual and in-person interviews, focus groups, site visits, or surveys. Prepare an annual Interim Evaluation Report and a Final Evaluation Report. Comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements, and Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014 requirements. Task 5: Develop and Disseminate Communication Materials The Contractor shall identify primary and secondary external audiences for communication and dissemination efforts and develop and disseminate communication materials that describe (1) individual grants, grantee models, and the overall initiative through grantee and initiative executive summaries; (2) annual grantee and initiative updates; (3) evaluation findings and lessons learned; and (4) other relevant topics. The Contractor shall propose optimal communication and dissemination formats, products, and channels to reach target audiences such as fact sheets, infographics, grantee stories, grantee and public electronic newsletters, social media, AHRQ’s website, blogs, webinars, podcasts, scientific conferences, or peer-reviewed manuscripts. The Contractor shall produce an annual Initiative Public Report for posting on AHRQ’s website in each project year. The reports shall describe the individual grants, grantee models, and overall initiative; provide annual updates; summarize and synthesize stakeholder engagement activities and insights; summarize and synthesize evaluation findings; describe salient developments in the field related to Long COVID care delivery; and discuss any project implications for Long COVID care delivery. The Contractor shall ensure that publicly disseminated materials are 508-compliant, written in plain language, and suitable for healthcare audiences, people with Long COVID, and other members of the public. Task 6: Provide Project Management The Contractor shall provide management, oversight, and communication across all tasks, assuring tight controls of scope, budget, timeline, and risk. The Contractor shall convene a virtual kickoff meeting in each project year, convene monthly progress meetings, provide agendas, logistics, and minutes for all meetings, and submit a Monthly Progress Report. The Contractor shall submit and maintain a deliverables-based, task-oriented work plan in each project year that addresses the plan for each task and risk management approaches. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable regulatory requirements across all tasks, including requirements related to Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Human Subjects Regulations, 508 compliance, and data privacy and security. Anticipated period of performance: The anticipated period of performance is a 12-month base period with four 12-month option periods. Capability Information Sought: Capabilities necessary to fulfill this requirement include: Subject matter expertise in key areas relevant to the project, such as coordinated care delivery models for complex or chronic conditions, health equity and access for underserved, vulnerable, and minority populations, health information technology, and mixed-methods evaluation Capability to initiate activities across all project tasks immediately upon contract award to meet timelines Experience managing large, complex projects with concurrent activities across multiple tasks and multiple teams across different organizations Access to stakeholders of interest Experience with healthcare stakeholder outreach, recruitment, and engagement through meetings and other modes Experience planning, convening, and facilitating large in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings Experience leading learning communities and advancing information sharing, collaboration, and community-building among LC participants Experience conducting literature searches and environmental scans and assessing scientific integrity of identified resources Experience conducting mixed-methods evaluations, including developing an evaluation plan, designing and conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses, integrating data from multiple studies and sources for cross-study analyses, and implementing various qualitative data collection approaches (including site visits) Capacity to form a separate Evaluation Team not involved in other project tasks Experience creating and disseminating communication materials in various formats, through various channels, and for various audiences including members of the public Experience writing reports for multi-year projects that summarize and synthesize information across project years, identify limitations, and draw implications for policy or practice Experience with regulatory compliance requirements including OMB PRA clearance, IRB, FISMA of 2014, and 508-compliance The capability statement response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice should include the following information: Staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work Corporate experience and information on prior projects of similar size and complexity, including experience on federally funded projects List of any Government wide contracting vehicle(s) for which the respondent has a contract (e.g., GSA schedule, etc.) I Information Submission Instructions: Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement. The cover page must include the following: UEI number Organization name Organization address Size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to NAICS code 541611. Technical point(s) of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone, and e-mail addresses. All Capability Statements sent in response to this SMALL BUSINESS SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Amanda Molkara, Contract Specialist,
[email protected] in MS Word, or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 2:00 PM on May 10, 2023. Responses should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (including the cover page, all attachments, resumes, any charts, and other supporting materials) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the aspects of the notice described above. Disclaimer and Important Notes : This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation will be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. 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).