Notice of Intent to Sole Source – COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Linguistic and Racial Minorities in the Meat Processing Workforce

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE. This is not a request for competitive proposals/quotes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), hereby announces its intent to issue a sole source order/contract to Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center, 2309 Euclid Ave, Des Moines, IA 50310-5703. The NAICS code for this acquisition is 813319, Other Social Advocacy Organizations, with a size standard of $8M. There is a pressing public health need to answer critical questions regarding the health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, perceptions of COVID-19 itself and perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine. To help address these important research gaps, the Vaccine Task Force is funding projects that address vaccine confidence. This procurement is for the collection and analysis of in-depth interviews on vaccine hesitancy with hard-to-reach populations in the meatpacking workforce in Iowa, including recruitment, coordination, analysis, and reporting of results from interviews. Interviews will be conducted with African Americans, White Americans, Burmese refugees, and Congolese refugees. To successfully complete these tasks, the contracted organization must have previous experience collecting qualitative data, have previous experience working with these populations, and have the capacity to provide/coordinate reliable interpretation services for interviews with Burmese and Congolese refugees. Burmese and Congolese refugees both have unique linguistic needs; both groups come from multilingual multiethnic countries and typically speak a minority ethnic language and/or the official language of their country of origin; further, new arrivals often have limited English proficiency. Prior experience with these communities is also vital as it takes time to build trust and the success of qualitative data collection is reliant on trust built with key community members. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action will be based on responses to this notice and is solely in the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. All vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov , prior to an award of a federal contract. This action is for services which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit quotations. This is not a request for competitive quotations ; however, the Government will review any/all product, capabilities, and pricing information submitted prior to the closure of this notice. A determination by the government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any responses should be emailed to Stephanie Reid at [email protected] by JUN 24, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. ET.