SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Instituational Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
- Notice Date
- 3/16/2007
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs;VA Central Office;Acquisition Operations Service (049A3);810 Vermont Avenue, NW;Washington DC 20420
- ZIP Code
- 20420
- Solicitation Number
- VA-101-07-RI-0248
- Response Due
- 3/23/2007
- Archive Date
- 5/22/2007
- Description
- Request for Information: To help ensure public confidence in VA research efforts, ensure responsible use of VA funds, and to protect the health and welfare of animals used in research, the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) has adopted measures to provide specific central oversight and field research support mechanisms. No matter what source of funds is used to conduct animal research, all VA programs must be accredited by AAALAC, and abide by all applicable VA, Public Health Service (PHS), FDA and USDA regulations. Primary responsibility for providing adequate budgetary and administrative support to meet these criteria lies with the local program. On behalf of the institution, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is given regulatory authority and responsibility for the animal care and use program. Each VA program that performs animal research must have an IACUC, although the VA program may rely utilize the academic affiliate's IACUC as its own. Thus, the ability of the IACUC to properly execute its responsibilities is crucial to maintaining a compliant animal care and use program. Consistent with its critical role as the institution's self-regulatory body, each institutional IACUC has the following basic charges: Uphold and maintain the tenets of the most current Department of Veterans Affairs Handbook governing animal research (1200.7), the USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations (AWAR), and the Public Health Service (PHS) policies. Provide impartial initial review of any protocol involving the use of animals within the institution. Provide reviews of all modification requests to established and approved protocols involving the use of animals. Provide assurance that staff and investigators are trained in current best practices in laboratory animal management and the humane care and use of laboratory animals. Assure that all staff coming into contact with research animals are protected through a current and comprehensive occupational health and safety policy. Provide a comprehensive, semi-annual review of the programmatic and physical infrastructure, including all locations which may be used to conduct VA animal research or house VA research animals. Review and approve Standard Operating Procedures for the animal research facility. Interpret and provide guidance to local research staff on any regulatory questions or concerns. Respond to all animal research related concerns on a station level. Provide aid and assistance to the staff veterinarian, animal facility staff and Institutional Review Board (IRB) members on any animal or regulatory matter brought before the board, to include issues of potential mistreatment and protocol noncompliance. Provide reports and feedback to the hospital Director regarding the state of the program and any corrective measures needed to ensure quality and compliance. Both VA policy (found in Handbook 1200.7) and the AWAR and the PHS Policy describe specific authorities and responsibilities for the IACUC. VACO makes all efforts to monitor all elements of a stations research program. Collectively however, these efforts have a weakness in that they only represent "snapshots" of IACUC function at points in time, and do not necessarily evaluate the ability of an IACUC to sustain a level of local monitoring and oversight needed to ensure a consistently high quality program. Specifically, they do not allow VACO to evaluate the IACUC's ability to complete an entire monitoring "cycle" (identify problems, identify solutions and corrections, and ensure the timeliness and effectiveness of corrections) nor evaluate if the IACUC's documentation of business conducted at meetings and documentation available for specific projects is adequate. Such evaluations are difficult to perform without on-site evaluations. Accordingly, the general scope of this contract is an evaluation of how consistently the IACUC meets the regulatory and functional responsibilities given it by VA policy and federal regulations. Consistent with the concept of self-regulation, the IACUC must: Review proposed uses of animals and ensure that such use is consistent with policies and regulations, and document the review in minutes and other documents to provide confidence that adequate review is being performed. Monitor ongoing animal research to ensure that studies are being conducted as approved, and document monitoring activities. Identify deviations from policy and regulation, document them, develop a corrective plan and timeline, and then monitor to ensure that corrective actions have been effective and timely. Communicate with both investigators and the medical center Director as needed to ensure transparency and foster an environment where self-regulation can be optimally effective. The task scope will be limited to a pilot project, which will review no fewer than five and no more than twelve IACUCs at the Medical Center level. The final deliverable of this contract will be reports which address how well each IACUC is meeting the VA and other regulatory body requirements listed above. The overall goal is for the contractors to get a sense of: IACUC organization and general management Level of IACUC effectiveness in the review of investigator requests for use of animals in biomedical or rehabilitative research within the VA. Level of IACUC effectiveness in the management of new and on-going investigator requests for use of animals in biomedical or rehabilitative research within the VA. Level of IACUC effectiveness in monitoring the overall animal research program. Level of IACUC effectiveness in monitoring the animal research facility (both infrastructure and physical assets). Level of IACUC effectiveness in the identification of programmatic and facility deficiencies. Level of IACUC effectiveness in the formulation and execution of plans for corrective action toward identified deficiencies. Level of IACUC effectiveness in response to issues involving both the animal program, the users of the program or over-arching issues with biomedical research involving animals. Level of IACUC knowledge in current best practices and regulations involving animal programs. The contractor will be required to travel in support of this contract. The final deliverable will be a report which identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) and also identifies current organizational trends. Intermediate deliverables will include individual post-site visit reports and regular updating of the proposed GNATT chart. This contract will not exceed eighteen (18) months in length. Interested firms should provide company profile including qualification statement (i.e., Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Veterans-Owned or Women-Owned Business, or if firms have a GSA Federal Supply Schedule). The detailed qualifications statements from interested sources are to be submitted via email to Ms. Bridgett Baer at Baer.Bridgett@mail.va.gov by March 23, 2007. Please reference RFI number VA-101-07-RI-0248.
- Record
- SN01252952-W 20070318/070316220709 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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