This is a notice of intent to Sole Source award in accordance with FAR 5.101(a)(1) The contract will be awarded to Carnegie Mellon University for the below scope of work: PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT Title of Project Integrated Innovation, Healthcare Technology and Innovative Learning Support for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) VA Pittsburgh Veterans Engineering Resource Center (VERC). Introduction Pittsburgh Veterans Engineering Resource Center (VERC), located in VISN 4 at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, was created through special funding provided by the VHA National High Reliability Systems and Consultation work stream under the Office of Quality, Safety and Value (QSV). The purpose of Pittsburgh VERC is to facilitate innovative solutions to health care delivery challenges identified by national, network, and facility leadership as well as to propose important opportunities for change and improvement. A key element of this partnership is the involvement of academic engineering, business analytics, and innovative learning faculty; and students who will bring expertise in technology development and technology management. Central to the innovation process is the involvement of health care professionals and staff at all stages of the process. Towards that end, Pittsburgh VERC requires a contract with our academic affiliate Carnegie Mellon University to provide innovative technology engineering expertise through its faculty and students, to the center as a whole, and for projects designated by VHA National, VISN, and VAPHS facility leadership. Background VA Secretary Robert McDonald and Interim Under-Secretary for Health Dr. Carolyn Clancy issued the Blueprint for Excellence on September 21, 2014 as the guiding document for VHA to move forward in its transformative endeavors. The four themes and ten essential strategies contained in the Blueprint for Excellence frame a set of activities that simultaneously address improving the performance of VHA healthcare now, developing a positive service culture, transitioning from sick care to health care in the broadest sense, and developing agile business systems and management processes that are efficient, transparent and accountable. The activities of the Pittsburgh VERC directly support the ten essential strategies, specifically Strategy Three - Leverage information technologies, analytics, and models of health care delivery to optimize individual and population health outcomes, and Strategy Eight - Become a model integrated health services network through innovative academic, intergovernmental and community relationships, information exchange, and public-private partnerships. Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership, a 2005 report by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies, documented that the health care sector as a whole has been relatively slow to embrace innovative, integrated technology systems and techniques, which could help untangle the complexities and lead to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of health care systems and subsystems and could be designed to optimize system performance to meet specific quality goals (e.g., safety, patient centeredness, timeliness) and, at the same time, improve prediction, measurement, and management to meet other performance goals (e.g., cost, access, productivity). Transformational advancements in the quality and productivity of VHA requires technology tools and techniques developed as part of OSE, a family of disciplines that includes industrial engineering, operations research, human factors engineering, and financial engineering/risk analysis, as well as from business management, computer science and engineering, and the social and behavioral sciences. All of these engineering and science disciplines are integrally involved in the design, analysis, and control of complex processes and systems. Pittsburgh VERC is engaged with VHA Central Office on a number of projects such as the National Access To Care initiative which involves designing, developing and deploying enterprise technology solutions to improve the services VHA provides to Veteran patients. The technology solutions range from game-based learning applications to virtual tool kits for clinic staff and management, to enterprise Knowledge Management (KM) Solutions. An integrated approach to these innovative technology solutions and systems will ensure that the most effective and efficient improvements are fielded throughout the Veterans healthcare system. Scope Specific requirements will be identified at the task order level. Task order requirements are expected to involve work of the following CMU Schools and Departments: Tepper Graduate School of Business, H. J. Heinz III College (School of Public Policy and Management and School of Information Systems and Management), Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), College of Engineering, Mellon College of Science, School of Computer Science, College of Fine Arts (CFA), and Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Specific tasks and deliverables may include, but are not limited to: Recommendations on appropriateness of projects, including planning and meeting to develop preliminary project ideas with VERC leadership, methods of approach, and structuring of improvement projects that will be done in conjunction with university faculty and students; Analysis of project, including summary of current state with relevant data analysis; Development and presentation of recommendations of technology approaches that will be applied and evaluated to attain goal performance of the process; Development and presentation of a project plan with tasks, timeframes, and identified task owners; Presentation of progress reports to VERC leadership on an agreed to interval; Presentation of project summary to VERC leadership at the conclusion of work, including performance data, technology and engineering methods applied, relevant application of methods to problems of a similar nature in other facilities, and summary of research questions for further analysis; Dissemination of results both within VISN 4 facilities, and externally to other VA entities, via presentation, teaching or training sessions, educational consultation, or further reports or other educational materials. Provider: Carnegie Mellon University Intent to award on a sole source basis supported by and in accordance with FAR 6.302-3(a)(1) pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(3). Full and Open Competition need not be provided when it is necessary to award the contract to a particular source in order to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational institution. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. A competitive solicitation will not be issued. Name and email of the individual to contact for information regarding the posting: Nathan Bradley Contract Specialist
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