FDA posted a Request for Information (RFI) for the Sentinel Initiative on February 20, 2009 with a response date of March 5, 2009. The agency is seeking information for planning purposes only. The purpose of the RFI is to identify potential sources that have the capability and qualifications to support the planning and development of the Sentinel Initiative. The agency is interested in evaluating and building upon models already developed by other organizations. FDA may consider soliciting services for a base year and four option years using an ID/IQ task order contract vehicle.
The initial stage of the Initiative enabled FDA to further refine requirements and develop the scope of the project and so far FDA has funded eight contracts to support this initial stage. In addition to these contracts, FDA hosted meetings with various stakeholder groups, and in December 2008, a public workshop was held to discuss the goals of the Initiative.
Efforts are being made to study the information that has already been learned from ongoing contractual work. At this time, FDA has plans to undertake new activities to support the initiative including test queries, methodology development, testing, and implementation of support projects, proof of concept development, along with providing for technical assistance.
For more information, contact Tara R. Hobson, at Tara.Hobson@fda.hhs.gov or by telephone 301-827-9691. To view the RFI, go to http://www.fbo.gov/.
