Background

The Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB), Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), National Cancer Institute (NCI), is considering re-competing, on a full and open competition basis, a contract for administrative and financial management oversight to assure timely progress in field work, data collection, and data/sample transfer and analyses.

The Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB), Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), National Cancer Institute (NCI), conducts studies of health effects of the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine. One study is the Cleanup Worker Project, which aims to assess the risks of leukemia and other hematological diseases, thyroid cancer and transgenerational effects related to radiation exposure among Chernobyl clean-up workers in Ukraine. The other study is the UkrAm Thyroid Project, which aims to monitor changes in the thyroid glands and evaluate risk of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases in a Ukrainian thyroid cohort of about 16,000 persons exposed at young ages or in utero to radiation from radioactive releases from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. These projects have been previously administered as a three-way partnership agreement. These agreements are signed by (1) NCI who financially supports and directs these projects, (2) the NCI Contractor who provides financial administration support, and (3) the Ukrainian research institutes ("the NCI collaborating institutions") who provide field support and conduct these projects. The NCI collaborating institutions for these projects are the Research Center for Radiation Medicine (RCRM), Kiev, Ukraine and the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism (IEM), Kiev, Ukraine.

This work is currently being conducted under contract HHSN261201600298P held by the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU).

Project Requirement
Perform administrative duties to support collaboration among the study personnel at NCI and the NCI collaborating institutions as specified in the study protocols for two NCI supported projects: "Cleanup Workers" and "Thyroid Cohort." These activities include but are not limited to:

1. Assisting the NCI in maintaining agreements with the NCI collaborating institutions.
2. Providing financial and administrative oversight of the studies conducted by the NCI collaborating institutions. This will include evaluation and verification of the progress of project activities, materials, supplies, personnel and services, and auditing costs on site in Ukraine.
3. Reporting any significant managerial issues or problems and providing strategies for resolution.
4. Providing support in procuring materials and supplies, and compensation to study subjects as needed by RCRM and IEM in performance of the tasks outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW).
5. Providing support in procuring equipment, including customs clearance assistance as needed, for performance of the tasks outlined in the SOW.

Capability Statement/Information Sought
To be deemed capable of providing the current need for this requirement, the offeror shall submit a written capability statement demonstrating the ability and experience in performing the requirements outlined in this notice and the SOW. Organizations that submit capability statements in response to this notice will be evaluated against the following areas of experience and expertise:

1. Demonstrated capability of, or an approach for, establishing a United States-Ukrainian binational project agreement for the two ongoing NCI support post-Chernobyl projects described in the SOW;
2. Demonstrated experience of successfully establishing and managing similar projects in size and scope to those outlined in the SOW.
3. Demonstrated experience in managing and administering projects funded by US government agencies;
4. Demonstrated experience negotiating with medical institutions and international and/or local governments.
5. Demonstrated capability of, or an approach for, providing on-site managerial oversight for the two ongoing NCI supported post-Chernobyl projects described in the SOW;
6. Demonstrated capability of, or an approach for, communicating in English, Ukrainian, and Russian;

Anticipated Period of Performance
The anticipated period of performance for this requirement is 7.5 months, with one 8-month option period.

Submission Information
Interested qualified small business organizations should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement, not to exceed 20 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, charts, etc.) 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. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement, as well as the eligible small business concern's name, point of contact, address and DUNS number. The NCI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses received or otherwise pay for the preparation of any information received.

The response and any other information furnished must be submitted in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NCI to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Responses must be submitted electronically (via email) in MS word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and received by 3:00 PM ET, on August 7, 2018. All responses and questions must be via email to Miguel Diaz, Contracting Officer at [email protected]. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Reference: N02RC85022-45 on all correspondence.

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/or solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).

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.