# Statement of Work

Title: IMOD Peer Review Consultation Meetings Support

**Quotation Due Date: September 2007**

Purpose/Brief History

a.  The NIH enjoys a longstanding history of supporting the most
    promising and meritorious biomedical and behavioral research using a
    broad range of approaches, strategies and mechanisms. A cornerstone
    of the system employed by NIH to support biomedical and behavioral
    research is the two-tiered peer review process. The NIH invites
    comments concerning the agency's support of the biomedical and
    behavioral research---including peer review---with the goal of
    examining the current system to optimize its efficiency and
    effectiveness and ensure that the NIH will be able to continue to
    meet the needs of the research community and public-at-large.

> Under the administration of the Immediate Office of the Director
> (IMOD), two new NIH working groups - an external Advisory Committee to
> the Director (ACD) Work Group and an internal Steering Committee Work
> Group - will seek input from the scientific community, including
> investigators, scientific societies, grantee institutions, voluntary
> health organizations, and from within NIH as well. The groups will
> study the context, criteria, and culture of peer review to make sure
> the most talented individuals and reviewers are engaged in the
> process.
>
> IMOD uses a collaborative information-gathering process to identify
> and prioritize the most pressing issues facing the Peer Review
> process. Part of the information-gathering process involves organizing
> specific opportunities for inviting NIH's stakeholders, scientists,
> health care providers, and the public to provide input on the Peer
> Review process. Contributors external to NIH can interact and exchange
> ideas with internal NIH staff and leadership. All then have the
> opportunity to submit their comments, perspectives, and
> recommendations, and these are all considered in the planning process.

b.  Description of Project: *Strategic Consultations Regarding Enhancing
    Peer Review*

> At the request of the Director, NIH, the ACD Work Group has planned
> five regional meetings to be held in, Chicago, New York City, San
> Francisco and Washington DC (2 meetings in this location, 1 is
> complete) to give the public and biomedical communities broad
> opportunities for comment on the NIH Peer Review process. During these
> meetings, NIH leadership review current and ongoing efforts and engage
> in open discussion with participants on challenges and opportunities
> for NIH Peer Review.
>
> Results from the ACD peer review working group will be presented to
> the full Advisory Committee to the Director in December 2007. The
> internal NIH steering committee working group will present its
> findings to the NIH Director's Steering Committee during the same
> month. Both working groups will meet in January 2008 to develop a set
> of integrated recommendations for next steps.
>
> Specifics of the Project:
>
> Regional Meetings:

-   July 30 - Washington DC (complete)

-   September 12 - Chicago

-   October 8 -- New York City

-   October 22

-   October 25

> ACD Work Group Meeting

-   November 2007

> ACD and SC Work Group joint meeting

-   January 2008

> Preparation and requirements for each of the regional meetings will
> include:
>
> .

-   Arranging for conference space to hold a minimum of 150 people, with
    potential need for smaller break-out room discussion.

-   Managing for light refreshments, and audio/visual support at the
    regional meetings.

-   Managing the calendar for the five separate meetings and
    facilitating attendance among the invitees, given the relatively
    short notice of the meetings.

-   Arranging for travel for NIH staff to the regional meetings,
    including securing reservations for a small block of hotel rooms if
    staff must stay overnight.

-   Preparing advance materials.

-   Developing and supporting a meeting registration website.

-   Developing and supporting a website for ACD WG member liaisons'
    input

-   Capturing and summarizing the scientific gist of the presentations
    and discussions at each meeting.

-   Facilitating electronic capture of discussion
    items/recommendations/comments when appropriate.

-   Producing summary documents.

> Description of Contractor Services: To assist with this high-level
> project, IMOD requires the following contractor expertise and
> services.

Expertise: The contractor must have:

-   Knowledge of the stakeholder community and the processes whereby the
    Office of the Director solicits input from stakeholders, scientists,
    health care providers, and the public.

-   Knowledge of the ways that NIH staff and leadership make most
    efficient use of information-gathering opportunities/forums with
    stakeholders, scientists, health care providers, and the public.

-   Knowledge of NIH mission and goals as they relate to Peer Review.

-   Previous demonstrated experience with gathering input from
    scientists and other members of the research and advocacy
    communities

-   Previous experience preparing summary documents for the Office of
    the Director within the context of important biomedical agendas.

-   Demonstrated ability to meet quick turnaround deadlines with
    products and professional services that benefit the Office of the
    Director (i.e., meet requirements for accuracy and error-free
    assistance).

**Services: The Contractor must be able to:**

-   Serve as contact point for questions about the planned Peer Review
    Consultation meetings (prior to meetings to assist with arrangements
    and liaison work).

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-   Liaise with conference room staff regarding facility and computer
    support

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-   Prepare advance materials that concisely but comprehensively explain
    to attendees the purpose of the meetings prior to attendance.

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-   Send invitations to the approved list of invitees.

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-   Prepare and support meeting registration processes (Web and non-web
    based)

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-   Prepare and send logistical information to all participants,
    including all pertinent practical details and reimbursement protocol
    where appropriate.

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-   Provide a point of contact for all attendees who have questions
    about their participation in the Regional meetings.

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-   Provide regular reports to Peer Review Work Group staff on
    registration and following up with invitees.

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-   Process reimbursement requests from meeting participants within 30
    days of receipt of their completed forms.

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-   Provide audiovisual equipment/flip charts/supplies, felt tip
    markers.

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-   Prepare related materials, such as final participant rosters, name
    tags, and tent cards.

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-   Provide technical and logistical meeting support for presentations
    and registration on-site.

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-   Work with the IMOD staff to develop the information necessary to
    submit for approval of light refreshments.

Communications Support:

-   Design and create materials that will ensure the success of the
    meetings, including e-mail invitations and follow-up information to
    invitees. Include a link to the registration Web site in the
    announcement.

-   Provide a science writer who will attend and provide a summary of
    each meeting, as well as a composite summary of all five meetings,
    so that all key information will be collected and prepared for the
    follow-up analysis.

**Justification for Other than Full Open Competition**

**Agency: National Institutes of Health**

**Activity: conference and meeting logistics support**

Timetable of Events associated with this effort:

> Regional Meetings:

-   July 30 - Washington DC (complete)

-   September 12 - Chicago

-   October 8 -- New York City

-   October 22

-   October 25

> ACD Work Group Meeting

-   November 2007

> ACD and SC Work Group joint meeting

-   January 2008

Circumstances and requirements of this effort are resulting in our
request for a sole-source contract with Courtesy Associates.

1.  An ambitious timetable of events has been set by the NIH director
    and an open competition would result in unacceptable delays in
    fulfilling agency requirements. The most critical and time-sensitive
    needs that Courtesy Associates has helped us with in the past is:

    a.  Securing meeting space: Courtesy has assisted us with securing
        meeting space for these regional meetings. If we cannot continue
        to use their services, Courtesy agreements with hotels across
        the country to hold meeting space for the regional meetings
        would be pulled back. At this point in time, we cannot afford a
        delay in order to run an open competition and wait for an
        outcome before re-securing meeting space. Likely we would lose
        our ability to conduct some of these meetings altogether as
        reservations for some of these dates have been extremely
        difficult to secure.

2.  Courtesy Associates has specialized services and experience specific
    to managing consultation meetings. They provided us with logistics
    support last year for similar consultation meetings to address NIH
    Roadmap needs. Their familiarity with the process, along with our
    timetable of events, leads us to conclude that they alone have the
    unique capability to meet our needs, given the timetable
    circumstances.

    a.  The consultation meetings require a great deal of coordination
        and compilation of data and information in a short amount of
        time. Because Courtesy has helped us manage these types of
        meetings before, we will spend less time orienting logistics
        support staff to the process.

    b.  Managing the calendar for the five separate meetings across the
        country and facilitating attendance requests, given the
        relatively short notice of the meetings.

    c.  Arranging for travel for NIH Staff and ACD Work Group members.

    d.  Preparing advance materials.

    e.  Capturing and summarizing the scientific gist of the
        presentations and discussions at each meeting.

    f.  Facilitating electronic capture of discussion
        items/recommendations/comments when appropriate.

    g.  Producing summary documents.

Send quotations to:

Penny Wung Burgoon, Ph.D.

Immediate Office of the Director

Office of the Director, NIH

<burgoonp@od.nih.gov>

**Due Date: September 2007**