SOLICITATION NOTICE
U -- Health Care Journalism Fellowship Program
- Notice Date
- 9/14/2009
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 611430
— Professional and Management Development Training
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 105, Bethesda, Maryland, 20894, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20894
- Solicitation Number
- 09-208SB
- Archive Date
- 10/9/2009
- Point of Contact
- Sally Boakye, Phone: 301-496-6546
- E-Mail Address
-
boakyes@mail.nih.gov
(boakyes@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- In accordance with FAR Part 12 and 13, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Library of Medicine intends to procure professional services on a sole source basis from the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ). The AHCJ would be responsible for developing and facilitating the AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellowship program. The period of performance shall be for a period of one year from the date of award with four additional one year options. Synopsis: As a result of a pilot program, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) established a journalism fellowship program in 2008 in order to: 1) raise NLM's visibility and awareness among the news media; 2) help promote and foster the dissemination of NIH research results and health education information; and 3) enhance the quality and accuracy of today's coverage of science and medicine generally, and of NLM specifically. The current requirement seeks to build on the success of the pilot program. The AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellowship is envisioned for journalists (carefully screened and selected by AHCJ) to participate in a four-day, on-site visit with researchers and senior officials at NLM and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Although one fellow is expected to come from each of the three major media venues: print, broadcast (TV or radio), and online (Internet), AHCJ selects the most qualified applicants. The Fellows come to NLM and NIH as a group. Background The pilot AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program was established to: • Increase Visibility for NLM. This fellowship raises NLM's visibility among reporters, writers, editors, and producers as a source of interesting, reliable, and valuable scientific information. Participants will be exposed to some of NLM resources and services, and may return to their newsrooms to share this information with their colleagues as well as their fellow journalists on the beat or at conferences. • Improve Knowledge Dissemination. The AHCJ-NLM Fellowship helps more people know about the information NLM provides and opens new communication channels with the public. Working closely with journalists in the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship helps them optimally access and utilize the library's resources, NLM accelerates and enhances its ability to distribute and promote its vast scientific knowledge and materials. Health and medical journalists also become more able to incorporate more of the library's data, programs, and resources into their reporting and editing. • Enhance Medical and Scientific Reporting. Through the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship, NLM impacts future coverage of health and medicine by helping fellows better understand and appreciate the scientific process. On-site at NLM-and relieved from their daily deadline pressures-reporters see first-hand how to access scientific information, how to analyze its importance, and then describe its application. The AHCJ-NLM Fellows also are exposed to the process of government research-from awarding grants, to publishing trial results, to how studies affect the delivery of care. Moreover, the AHCJ-NLM Fellows become well-versed in effectively mining and culling NLM's vast and comprehensive resources. Proposed methods: The Contractor will manage the publicity about the program to its members, select the candidates for the ACHJ-NLM Fellowship, help NLM plan the program agenda, and evaluate the program. The contractor will create membership informational materials using their existing staff office. These information materials will include: publicity about the program, informing members about the program's availability, informing membership about the selected participants, and post-program descriptions of the program written for AHCJ members. The contractor should integrate information about the AHCJ-NLM Fellows program into AHCJ's existing membership publications, website (http://www.healthjournalism.org), email dissemination, and annual conferences at AHCJ's discretion by using their existing staff. The contractor will create an AHCJ-NLM Fellowship application and application process for AHCJ members using their existing staff. The contractor will select judges who will review membership applications and select at least three applicant/members to participate as AHCJ-NLM Fellows. The contractor, working with the judges, will determine the criteria to select applicants (with NLM's consultation). The contractor will arrange for judges' travel and honoraria to select AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellows, if necessary. The contractor will consult with NLM on the final program's agenda. While consultation should be ongoing between NLM and AHCJ's staff, a planning meeting to finalize the program should be held with NLM officials that includes representatives from AHCJ's staff and membership. The contractor will administer travel arrangements for the selected AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellows. AHCJ can send staff and AHCJ Board representatives to attend the planned four day AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program. The contractor will evaluate the ACHJ-NLM Fellows program by providing an instrument to assess the program and enhance participant feedback. An executive summary of this evaluation should be written for NLM and the raw evaluation materials should be shared with NLM -- following AHCJ's review. The contractor participate in a post-program meeting with NLM officials so all parties may improve the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship. The contractor is not responsible for publicity about the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program to the public, to other NIH agencies, or within NLM. These responsibilities will be handled by NLM. AHCJ (the contractor) is not responsible for any publicity about the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program except informational materials targeted to its members. Proposed work: The contractor will manage the publicity about the program to its members, select the candidates for the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program, help NLM plan the program agenda, and evaluate the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program. The contractor is expected to promote the program to its 1000 members. The contractor will create membership informational materials using their existing staff. These information materials will include: publicity about the program, informing members about the program's availability, informing membership about the selected participants, and post-program descriptions of the program written for AHCJ members. The contractor will integrate information about the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program into AHCJ's existing publications and email dissemination. The contractor, at their discretion, should include presentations about NLM's services for journalists at AHCJ's annual membership conferences (which occurs in the spring every year). The contractor will create an application and application process for members. The contractor will select judges who will review membership applications and select at least three members to participate as AHCJ-NLM Fellows. The contractor, working with the judges, will decide the selection criteria to screen applicants. The contractor may reimburse judges for their time and possible travel to a destination where the final participants are selected. The contractor will consult with NLM on the 2010 program's agenda (an outline for the 2009 pilot year is provided in Attachment A). While consultation should be ongoing between NLM officials and AHCJ's staff, a planning meeting with NLM to finalize the program's agenda should be held that includes representatives from AHCJ's staff and membership. AHCJ (the proposed contractor) is encouraged to send representatives to attend the four day AHCJ-NLM Fellowship program. The contractor will be asked to administer travel plans and honoraria for the selected AHCJ-NLM Fellows. The contractor will evaluate the AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellows program by providing an instrument that will assess the program and enhance participant feedback. An executive summary of this evaluation should be written for NLM and the raw evaluation materials should be shared with NLM -- following AHCJ's review. The contractor shall participate in a post-program meeting with NLM officials so all parties can enhance the NLM Journalism Fellowship in the future. Dissemination of findings The contractor will conduct a participant evaluation of the program. An executive summary of this evaluation should be written for NLM and the raw evaluation materials should be shared with NLM -- following AHCJ's review. AHCJ is encouraged to obtain additional feedback about the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship from its membership, leadership, and staff and share these findings with NLM in order to improve the program. Required tasks: The following tasks are to be completed as outlined. The professional services to be performed consist of the delivery of hours of professional services in support of the following tasks. Task description: Phase 1 Subtask 1 The contractor will create membership informational materials including: publicity about the program, informing members about the program's availability, preparing a logo for the program (in collaboration with NLM). Subtask 2 The contractor will create an application and application process for members. Subtask 3 The contractor will participate with NLM officials in a planning meeting to determine the final program agenda. Subtask 4 Monthly progress reports will be provided to the designated project officer within NLM's Office of Communications and Public Liaison. Phase 2 Subtask 1 The contractor will select judges who will review membership applications and select members to participate as NLM Journalism Fellows. Subtask 2 The contractor will inform membership about the selected participants via its publications, website, and email dissemination. Subtask 3 The contractor will establish a mechanism to reimburse judges for their time. Subtask 4 The contractor will handle travel arrangements for the selected participants. Subtask 5 Monthly progress reports will be provided to the designated project officer within NLM's Office of Communications and Public Liaison. Phase 3 Subtask 1 The contractor will evaluate the AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellows program by providing an instrument that will assess the program and enhance participant feedback. An executive summary of this evaluation should be written for NLM and the raw evaluation materials should be shared with NLM -- following AHCJ's review. Subtask 2 The contractor shall participate in a post-program meeting with NLM officials so all parties can enhance the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship in the future. Deliverables: Phase 1 Deliverables: Three months after the contract award. Subtask one should be initiated in the first 45 days. The remainder of the subtasks should be phased in during the project's first 90 days. Monthly progress reports during this phase will be due to the designated project officer within NLM's Office of Communications and Public Liaison. Phase 2 Deliverables: Subtasks 1-4 should be phased in starting in the second month after the contract begins and ending in the sixth month after the contract begins. Monthly progress reports during this phase will be due to the designated project officer within NLM's Office of Communications and Public Liaison. Phase 3 Deliverables: The tasks described in phase 3 should be accomplished during the seventh through the tenth month of the contract. Requirement to Notify Government of Proprietary Work Dependencies Offerors are required to notify the Government in writing of any dependencies of the deliverables under this contract on proprietary, copyrighted, or patented work that potentially inhibits, restricts, or requires permission for the dissemination of the deliverables to the public, other governmental agencies or research groups, or any other parties whatsoever. Sole source justification: While several other organizations were considered, the AHCJ is the only organization that is exclusively dedicated to serving independent journalists who provide health and medical news intended for the public via print, broadcast, and internet news media. The other aforementioned journalism organizations either do not exclusively serve health and medical reporters and editors, or their members do not necessarily write for independent journalism organizations, or they do not have equivalently rigorous journalistic membership standards (which all are crucial to the proposed program's success). In contrast with other organizations, AHCJ's membership is restricted to working health care and medical journalists, and excludes persons who do not work in independent news organizations. Health and medical journalists who work for independent news organizations are the exclusive target audience for the AHCJ-NLM Fellows program. General assignment, non-health and medical specialist journalists, public relations, and practitioners who do not work for independent news organizations are not the intended audience to participate in the program (and it would be a professional mistake to include them in an initiative designed to assist working health reporters and editors). AHCJ's membership provides the precise target audience that NLM hopes to attract to the AHCJ-NLM Fellowship as well as a unique professional standing that fosters the program's success. AHCJ's professional values are uniquely aligned with NLM's programmatic objectives. AHCJ's participation also enhances the AHCJ-NLM Journalism Fellowship's efficiency and cost-effectiveness by providing a membership pool that essentially prescreens the applicants whom NLM hope will participate in the program. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations or is a request for quote available; however, all responses received by the closing date of this notice will be considered by NIH in accordance with the criteria identified below. The quoter shall include all information, which demonstrates, documents and/or supports the qualification of the Offeror to fulfill the above described requirement in one clearly marked section of its quotation. Mandatory Criteria • The contractor should be a non-profit, membership supported, and independent organization that exclusively serves health and medical journalists • The organization's (contractor's) primary purpose should be educational and to support the professional development of health and medical journalists. • The organization's (contractor's) primary purpose should be to enhance quality of medical reporting • The organization (contractor) should be dedicated to serving working journalists who provide health and medical news intended for the public who work full time for editorially independent news organizations (including newspaper, news service, online news service, syndicate, magazine, television or radio stations or network) • Professional membership within the organization only is designated for: journalists who work full time for editorially independent news organizations (including newspaper, news service, online news service, syndicate, magazine, television or radio stations or network); health/medical journalism educators at a university or college; and independent journalists who earn more than half their income producing stories for editorially independent news organizations and are not in a professional role to create interest in news stories for other journalists • The organization's (contractor's) membership criteria, professional standards, bylaws, statement of principles, conflict of interest policy, other journalism ethics guidelines, and fundraising policies should be designed to boost the organization's credibility and stature among news media professionals • The organization's membership should include health and medical journalists from across the U.S. and some nations outside the U.S. • The organization's (contractor's) membership demographics should include a cross section of younger, mid-career, and veteran health and medical journalists • The organization's membership should encompass all types of news media including newspaper, news service, online news service, syndicate, magazine, television or radio stations or network • The organization should encourage career development for minority health and medical journalists • The organization (contractor) should be located within an institution that stresses journalism education and training and has specialized science and medical reporting programs • The organization (contractors) headquarters and staff must be located within the U.S. Evaluation Criteria The technical proposal will receive paramount consideration over price or cost factors. The evaluation will be based, in addition to price, on a written quotation detailing the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective vendor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth above. The evaluation criteria are listed in descending order of priority. Offeror's proposal shall demonstrate: • A history of supporting and critiquing the coverage of evidence-based medicine through ongoing internal programs • A history of enhancing the coverage of medically underserved audiences through ongoing internal programs • Provision of ongoing professional development and training programs for members, which enables NLM Fellowship participants to train peer members in the use of NLM/NIH health educational resources • A portfolio of internal publications as well as a website for members, plus the capability to provide instant email information to all members • Corporate capabilities which consists of health and medical reporters and editors which serve as staff and/or board members. • Experience working with NIH or other organizations similar in size and scope. All interested parties shall submit electronic responses to Sally Boakye at boakyes@mail.nih.gov. Responses must be received no later than 5:00 PM EST on September 24, 2009. Please reference pre-solicitation number 09-208/SB on all correspondence to this notice.
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