SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Scientific Mentoring in the Alaskan Native/American Indian Populations
- Notice Date
- 3/18/2009
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 31 Center Drive, Room 1B59, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- NOI923544
- Point of Contact
- Susan A Nsangou,, Phone: 301-443-2104
- E-Mail Address
-
nsangous@mail.nih.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a notice of intent, not a request for a proposal. A solicitation document will not be issued and proposals will not be requested. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Office of Acquisitions- Neurosciences, Station Support/Simplified Acquisition intends to solicit on a sole source basis with the Oregon Health and Sciences University, One Sky Center, Portland, Oregon, for further development and refinement of the mentoring program and other activities to increase the involvement of underrepresented and other scholars interested in substance abuse and addiction research in American Indian/Alaskan Native populations. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are severely underrepresented in both the social and basic sciences. To begin to address this issue the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) established the Special Populations Office (SPO) to encourage and support persons from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in substance abuse and addiction research. NIDA convened the American Indian/Alaska Native Researchers and Scholars Workgroup (AIANRSG) to provide recommendations on research needed to better understand, prevent and treat substance abuse and addiction in AI/AN populations and to develop addiction research capacity development in AI/AN communities. Underrepresented minority researchers face a number of challenges that influence their success in obtaining sponsored support from NIDA/NIH and other federal funding agencies. Some of these challenges include limited/poor mentoring, lack of knowledge of funding opportunities and requirements, and limited resources. Additional barriers for AI/AN populations include the low number of AI/AN students in the research pipeline, the scarcity of AI/AN research scientists who can serve as mentors, and skepticism held by the community towards research and government sponsored programs. Collectively, these factors impact NIDA's efforts to increase and retain AI/AN investigators conducting substance abuse and addiction research and further develop the research infrastructure within Indian country. Scientific mentoring is a valuable method that serves to promote interest in research as well as retain scientists already in the research pipeline. The AIANRSG began the development of the Native to Native Mentoring Program to provide mentorship and research exposure to early/new scientists interested in pursuing careers in substance abuse and addiction research. In 2008, the AIANRSG was able to meet to discuss plans for the mentoring program and begin to recruit mentors and mentees. Initial plans were discussed at two AI/AN health and research based meetings -- the "Association of American Indian Physicians Meeting" in Idaho and the "Native Health Research Conference" in Oregon. In addition, some mentors and mentees attended two NIDA meetings -- the "NIDA Researchers and Scholars Joint Workgroup Meeting" and the "Research Development Seminar Series". Oregon Health and Sciences Center currently participates in the Native to Native Mentoring Program. In addition, Oregon Health and Sciences Center provides regular meetings to the AI/AN community, especially in the substance abuse and addiction research. The contract will be used to provide the following deliverables: • Host periodic planning conference calls between AIANRSG members, NIDA staff, and/or mentees • Conduct a structured and managed mentoring program to train and support the career development of underrepresented scholars/investigators and others interested in pursuing research careers in substance abuse and addiction in the AI/AN population. • Develop short and long-term mentoring plans for each participant identifying needs and activities to address the needs. • Support the attendance at annual Researchers and Scholars Joint Workgroup meetings held in the Washington, DC area. • Participate in at least three scientific meetings convened by groups with a mission and interest similar to the goals of the mentoring program for the purpose of recruiting students/faculty, encouraging interest in addiction research, educating attendees about drug abuse and addiction in AI/AN communities, e.g., the Association of American Indian Physicians, Indian Health Service, the Office for Minority Health, and American Indian Research Network. The final product will consist of: • A report describing the program including course/curriculum outline, activities, collaborations, products (if any), outcomes, lessons learned, major barriers, major achievements, and recommendations. • Evaluation assessments or reports from program participants regarding their activities, expectations, benefits, and continuing needs. • Evaluation assessments or reports from mentors describing mentee performance from AI/AN project directors in whose projects the mentees were embedded. The period of performance will be 12 months. NIDA will have the opportunity to extend this contract, up to two additional option years. The acquisition is being conducted under simplified acquisition using FAR 12 procedures and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competition Requirement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this synopsis. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government. Comments to this announcement, referencing synopsis number NOI929319 may be submitted to the NIDA, Station Support/Simplified Acquisition Branch, 31 Center Drive, Bldg 31, Room 1B59, Bethesda, MD 20892-2080, and Attention: Susan Nsangou, Contracting Officer.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=f31f4b4f4c87fdccc327de979ecf67eb&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Portland, Oregon, United States
- Record
- SN01772485-W 20090320/090318220943-f31f4b4f4c87fdccc327de979ecf67eb (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |