APHL seeks to select up to 12 public health laboratories or their jurisdictionally-affiliated TB control programs for the purpose of expanding the use of Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRA) to aid in diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Requirements

All state or local US public health laboratories or TB Control programs are eligible to apply provided their proposal is written in collaboration with their jurisdictional counterpart. A letter must be submitted with all applications from both the laboratory and their jurisdictional control program that demonstrates a joint plan. Potential scenarios include:

Option 1: Public health laboratory in a given jurisdiction currently has some limited capacity to perform IGRA but with programmatic input would like to expand testing capability

Option 2: Public health laboratory that does not currently perform IGRA but would like to implement IGRA as an in-house service based on a defined programmatic need.

Option 3: TB Control program in a jurisdiction where the public health laboratory is either not interested or not able to expand testing capability or to bring IGRA in-house

Proposals will be evaluated based on the proposed plan including:

  • Demonstration of programmatic/laboratory collaboration,
  • Implementation/Expansion plan and
  • Evaluation plan

Timeline

October 30, 2015 – RFP issued
November 10, 2015 – Informational teleconference for Q&A (see RFP for call-in info)
December 11, 2015 – RFP responses due
December 18, 2015 – Proposal review completed
December 18-23, 2015 – If needed, follow-up interviews and updated proposals due
December 23, 2015 – Final review completed and reference center selection
January 30, 2016 – Contracts finalized and work begins

Request for Proposal Materials

The Expanded access to Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRA) RFP provides details on how to complete this RFP. The RFP contains a copy of the scoring criteria that will be used for evaluation of proposals in Appendix C.

Clarification(s)

On page five (5) of the RFP, under section "Evaluation team," the following clarifies the first sentence of paragraph two (2).

Due to the expected volume of applicants, each completed proposal will be reviewed by three (3) reviewers; 1 subject matter expert (SME) from CDC, 1 APHL member selected from non-applicant public health laboratories and one (1) representative from the National TB Controllers Association (NTCA).

Questions and Answers

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+ Eligibility

All state or local US public health laboratories or TB Control programs are eligible to apply provided their proposal is written in collaboration with their jurisdictional counterpart. If a non-public health laboratory or a public health center is interested in applying they must partner with their jurisdictional public health laboratory or TB Control program as they are the entities eligible for applying. A non-public health laboratory or public health center cannot be the lead applicant or apply individually for this RFP.

Yes, a letter of support is needed but we also expect evidence of collaboration as defined in the programmatic needs for the expansion of testing.

+ Process

The selected sites will enter into a contract with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and APHL will be dispersing the funds for the project through the contract.

Once the RFP closes and the final sites have been selected and notified, APHL will require the name of the specific entity that will serve as the contractor. APHL will draft a contract with deliverables, milestones, and a statement of work. Once the contract is reviewed internally at APHL, it will be sent to the named contractor for review and signature.

No, the budget can be included as an appendix.

Yes, applicants are welcome to apply to both. The decision to submit one or two applications is up to the applicant. If you choose to submit as a single application please make sure to consider that you will need to clearly respond to the questions for the two different options and that there is a page limit.

+ Budget

Yes, but they should not constitute the entire scope of the project and significant consideration should be given to the time frame of project period (~ 6 months) and (including the hiring process) sustainability of funding a position. Additionally, if salaries are requested, applicants should clearly identify and define how it will be sustained once the funding ends.

While the budget could include salary for a courier, applicants should be mindful that this is a one-time funding award so consideration should be given and included in the application about how supporting a salary could be sustained beyond this project period.

While APHL has placed no fixed limit on the amount of funding an applicant may request, the association recommends that interested laboratories submit proposals with a budget of less than $100,000.

Yes, but the funds would need to be expended within the award period for the contract.

Yes, but you need to keep in mind the volume of testing and the expiration date of the kits.

Yes. For example, if your laboratory was using a manual platform and wanted to convert to a more automated method to allow an increase in the number of tests performed that would qualify under this RFP.

Yes, these items are acceptable to include in the budget for the application.

Yes, please provide a justification so we can give appropriate consideration to the budget.

+ Technical Inquiries

We recognize that the project is short which impacts the type of metrics that can be used. You would need to define metrics that can be addressed within the project period (January-June 30, 2016). Additionally, there is room in the sustainability plan to address any future metrics that could be used to evaluate more long-term impacts of the project.

This RFP is wholly independent from the RTMCCs and all state or local US public health laboratories or TB Control programs are eligible to apply provided their proposal is written in collaboration with their jurisdictional counterpart.

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