Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBICoE) Research and Support Services   2

The TBICoE is a component of the Defense Health Agency (DHA). TBICoE is a division of the Research and Engineering Directorate (R&E). R&E is a Directorate of DHA. DHA is a Federal Program within the Department of Defense (DoD). TBICoE, known previously as the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), is a congressionally mandated multi-site research, dissemination and knowledge translation program, charged with advancing the traumatic brain injury state of the science and clinical standards, established in 1992.

TBICoE's mission is to conduct congressionally mandated traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinical research investigations, surveillance, clinical tool development, and dissemination of TBI education to DoD medical personnel, service members, including Guard and Reserve, and veterans with TBI, as well as their families. This multifaceted approach to TBI is best served with coordination between divisions, offices and network sites to advance the state of the science for TBI.

TBI is a predominant injury in both peacetime and wartime for Service Members and veterans. The number of TBI patients has increased due to the current theaters of combat as well as exposure to ongoing training based hazards. Blast related injuries in combination with other events are the primary cause of TBI for active duty military personnel. TBICoE operates within DoD military treatment facilities (MTF) and Veteran Affairs Health Systems (VA) facilities across the US and in Germany, commonly referred to as TBICoE Network Sites. TBICoE operates with a large proportion of contract staff both at headquarters in Silver Spring, MD and across the TBICoE network. TBICoE has 9 Research locations to include Headquarters, and 12 Regional Education Coordinators (REC) located throughout the Military Health System (MHS).

Contractors will continue to be integral in each and every aspect of these highly specialized TBI services. TBICoE headquarters (HQ) is located in Silver Spring, MD. The HQ, supported by contractors who are expert scientists, researchers and trained clinicians, ensures that the TBICoE Network Sites provide one or more of the following services: human clinical research addressing military-relevant gaps; requirement-driven human clinical research investigations; TBI and brain health surveillance; leading the development of clinical practice management and clinical recommendation tools; and TBI education and dissemination programs. Headquarters and the Research network provide a hub of TBI Subject matter experts to lead human clinical research facilitation and implementation; this involves providing scientific leadership, serving as Principal and Associate Investigators on clinical human research studies at all TBICoE research sites; development, coordination, and conduct of human subject research; expert knowledge of human subject research regulations; and expert fluency in statistical analyses and interpretation of data collected, and disseminate research findings at conferences and publications in peer-reviewed journals. The HQ and Research Network will support the execution of Congressionally mandated and DoD assigned missions such as: the Congressionally-mandated 15 Year Longitudinal Study of TBI Incurred by Members of the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), The Warfighter Brain Health Program, and any future projects to be named by Congress and/or the DoD.

Moreover, contractor research activities will rely on collaboration between the DoD, VA, civilian health partners, local communities, families and individuals with TBI. These include organizations such as the Medical Research Development Command, Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, Rehabilitation Research, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). These collaborators work with TBICoE to provide or coordinate services that support individuals with TBI in their goals of returning to duty, bettering short and long-term outcomes, returning to the workforce and/or in returning to their families and communities.

To accomplish this mission, TBICoE requires robust and expert supported clinical research investigation teams, dissemination experts, and clinical translation programs to ensure success throughout the entire program. TBICoE Government personnel have the responsibility for the development and oversight and in some instances the management of TBICoE HQ and Network clinical investigations, education, and surveillance along the TBI Pathway of Care for the MHS. Non-personal services contractors will perform the highly specialized, TBI SME tasks as described in the contract and will be supervised by contractor personnel. Personal services contractors will receive clinical supervision from government site directors or their designee at TBICoE research network sites. In each case, contractor personnel will have direct operational responsibility for deliverables to the government leadership to ensure mission success.

This is an unrestricted full and open competitive acquisition, with a 40% total dollar participation by small business requirement. The amendment HT001422R00080002 package consists of the amendment itself, Excel form offeror questions and Government responses thereto, revised pricing sheet, duty location listing, and PDF form Business Associate Agreement, IT User Agreement, and Software License listing. This announcement is for the purpose of revising Instructions to Offerors and the Performance Work Statement as indicated in Amendment HT001422R00080003 and incorporating a revised pricing sheet dated 21 Jul 22..