Notice of Intent to Sole Source - NIEHS Support Services for Epidemiology - Contract HHSN273201600003I- Extension of Ordering Period for IDIQ Contract and Increase to IDIQ Ceiling

Background
The National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is issuing a modification to the existing Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract number HHSN273201600003I on a sole source basis.

The objective is to extend the ordering period and increase the IDIQ ceiling to ensure the continuation of mission-critical research while the NIH procurement team pursues the re-competition of these services under a new full and open cost reimbursement contract.

Work Details
The Statement of Work (SOW) requires oversight of international field sites, including translation, foreign IRB coordination, specimen analysis, and maintaining relationships already established by the incumbent contractor, DLH, LLC.

The contractor must maintain trusted relationships with external collaborators, laboratories, and registries that are not transferable without significant disruption. Transitioning to a new contractor would cause significant disruptions for the Epidemiology Branch and Principal Investigators as DLH, LLC executes operational work for Epidemiology Studies. This poses a risk to public health as these studies support the NIEHS mission and research on environmental effects on human health.

Interruptions in research management, IT, and regulatory infrastructure would lead to unacceptable delays in subject enrollment and conducting epidemiological studies. It is critical that the Epidemiology Support Services provided by DLH, LLC remain uninterrupted to ensure success in ongoing studies.

Place of Performance
The geographic location(s) for performance are not explicitly stated but involve international field sites.