This is a presolicitation/notice of intent to sole source for services prepared in accordance with FAR Part 15. It is the intent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), to procure to publish a peer reviewed supplement to the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). on the topic of: Social and Behavioral Science and the US Pain and Opioid Crises: Perspectives from Multiple Disciplines on Research Gaps and Opportunities. The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 813920- Professional Organizations. Background: The statistics supporting the opioid crisis as a public health imperative are well known. For example, there is evidence of increasing rates over time of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone and this increase has not been significantly affected by the concurrent decrease in producing and distributing opioids. Compounding the problem is the 25% increase in pain prevalence among US adults over the past 2 decades, with strong opioid use remaining high. Purpose/Objectives: The proposed journal supplement will address the continuing challenge of managing chronic pain while concurrently preventing and managing opioid misuse and abuse. This supplement will move beyond current national policy initiatives focused on opioid production and distribution and devote much needed attention on how the structural determinants, i.e., socio-demographics of chronic pain, addiction, and overdose can and should be incorporated into research aimed at preventing and treating opioid misuse and abuse and concurrently manage chronic pain. Responses to the interrelated crises of opioids and chronic pain in the United States require a comprehensive approach that brings together expertise and input from multiple disciplines and experiences including primary care providers, patients with chronic pain and/or substance misuse/addiction disorders, emergency department staff, dentists, judicial system staff, public health practitioners, and basic, translational, and clinical researchers. This supplement is designed to not only provide recommendations for new research directions across several domains, but to provide these recommendations in the context of analyses from multiple perspectives. Contractor Requirements, Tasks and Deliverables: The Contractor shall furnish all the necessary labor, materials, supplies, equipment, resources The Contractor shall fulfill the following requirements for developing and publishing a journal supplement on the topic of Social and Behavioral Science and the US Pain and Opioid Crises: Perspectives from Multiple Disciplines on Research Gaps and Opportunities. The supplement shall contain up to five peer-reviewed analytic essays (up to 4,000 words each) and between 3-5 editorial comments (up to 1,200 words; not peer reviewed) per thematic analytic essay. Analytic essays and editorials will be formatted per the journal’s specifications in terms of word count, figures, etc. Analytic essays and editorials will be published as a collection in the journal supplement. The supplement shall be a maximum of 90 pages. Contractor requirements, tasks and deliverables are specified in the attached SOW. Period of Performance: April 1, 2020 – July 15, 2021 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under the resultant contract shall be performed at the Contractor’s facility. Sole Source Justification: After careful review of potential journals to consider, the trans-NIH committee on social and behavioral contributions to the opioid crisis determined that the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), which is produced by the American Public Health Association, is uniquely suited to house this journal supplement. AJPH is a large, premier, multi-disciplinary journal that takes a comprehensive look at pressing public health issues from many angles and at many levels. AJPH is dedicated to publishing original research in the public health space and advancing research, policy, practice, and education. The journal has a superior reputation, with an impact factor in 2017 of 4.380 and a ranking of #4 of 156 titles in the Public, Environmental and Occupational Health category in the Social Sciences Citation Index and #16 of 179 titles for the same category in the Science edition. AJPH is one of the few journals with a broad and expansive outreach that also is dedicated to providing a forum for diverse viewpoints on major public health issues and policies. As this special issue is designed to present varying viewpoints on the growing and pressing crises of opioid use and pain management in the US, AJPH is most suited to reach as broad an audience as possible. There is no other journal that has the reach, depth, or cross-disciplinary nature to fulfill the requirements of this SOW. This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP), nor is a RFP available; however, all responsive sources may submit a proposal in a timely manner which will be considered by NIH. Firms interested in responding to this notice must be able to provide the required services, property, facilities and funding specified in the SOW and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies. 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. Responses shall be in writing and shall be electronically transmitted to
[email protected] by 2:00 PM EST on Monday, March 30, 2020. Responses shall include pricing information and shall reference Presolictation/Intent to Sole Source Notice No. 75N97020R00008.