Cancer Registry Standards, Methods, and Surveillance Support Services

The Surveillance Research Program (SRP) directs the collection and analysis of pertinent data in order to answer key questions about cancer incidence, morbidity, mortality, and cancer-related health status in diverse regions and populations in the United States. As part of its mission, SRP manages the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, an integrated, comprehensive, multiple population-based reporting system.

The SRP also provides leadership in the interpretation of cancer statistics and in developing statistical methodologies appropriate for analyzing trends and evaluating the impact of cancer control interventions as well as geographic, social, behavioral, genetic, and health care delivery factors on the cancer burden.

The objective of this five (5) year contract is to support training/educational workshops and working groups to disseminate technical assistance and improve effectiveness of registry operations, trans-agency investigations of data comparability and quality, publication of pooled data based on statistical analyses and quality control field studies, and development of quantitative methods and metrics that assess data quality and benchmarks for pooling. 

Many federal and private agencies are involved in the national cancer surveillance effort.  The need to coordinate cancer registration programs was recognized more than three (3) decades ago through creation of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).  The NAACCR is a collaborative umbrella organization of professionals.  It is supported by the central cancer registries in the United States, agencies of the federal government involved in cancer surveillance, professional societies, and private agencies.  A major NAACCR goal is to encourage and work towards increased use of cancer registry data and improve data quality.  Since 1993, regional, state and provincial registries with statutory authority to collect data on cancer patients voluntarily submit their non-identified data to NAACCR for evaluation and publication.  In addition, subsequent to Memorandums of Understanding established in February 2000, and updated in April 2005, the NCI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have continued processes in place for coordination of their respective programs related to cancer surveillance, including endorsement of the role of other key partners such as NAACCR in the national cancer surveillance enterprise.

entral cancer registries throughout North America have made great strides in their ability to uniformly collect cancer information in a complete, accurate, and timely manner.  Many of these advances have occurred as a result of NAACCR activities.  The NAACCR mission is to coordinate and encourage the development, enhancement and application of cancer registration techniques in population-based groups, so that quality data will be available for cancer control and epidemiologic research, public health programs, and improved patient care to reduce the burden of cancer.  NAACCR promotes established standards for cancer registration; trains and educates cancer registry professionals in cancer registry operations; certifies registries that achieve standards of high quality; aggregates data from population-based registries throughout the U.S.; and promotes the use of cancer registry data in surveillance, cancer control, and population-based research.

This requirement is a continued effort to making the NCI’s cancer surveillance program more responsive to the needs of the division, institute, and nation, and more integrated with other partners within the national cancer surveillance enterprise.

A Single-award IDIQ contract is contemplated by RFO - FAR 16.504. The following describes the general scope, nature, complexity, and purpose of the services the Government may acquire under a contract during the specified ordering period. The specific requirements will be identified in each Task Order Statement of Work where the Contractor would furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government, as needed to perform each Task Order.

SCOPE

The following task areas are divided into sections that provide for the day-to-day workings of this contract and cover the areas of 1) project management and administrative support; 2) technical committees and workshops support; 3) reports, data use, and NCI SRP’s special studies support; and 4) registry operations support.

TASK AREA 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

The Contractor shall interact regularly with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to report on the status of tasks, discuss issues that need to be resolved, and address any other contract matters.

TASK AREA 2: SUPPORT FOR TECHNICAL COMMITTEES AND WORKSHOPS

 A. Steering Committees, Workgroups, and Task Forces

Much of the work conducted under the NAACCR umbrella is undertaken within a network of steering committees, workgroups, and task forces comprised of participants from the NCI, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, various professional organizations, and the individual central cancer registries in the United States and Canada. The five central steering committees are: Strategic Alliances, Standardization and Registry Development, Research and Data Use, Communications, and Professional Development.

The Contractor shall support the NCI SRP’s goals and objectives for standardizing data collection methods, including but not limited to the development of data items, edits, rules and procedures for data collection, staging activities, implementation guidelines, consolidation rules, new site specific factors and modifications to existing factors, and communicating and coordinating activities with relevant workgroups/committees, the change control board, and cancer surveillance community.

 B. Training and Workshop Support

The Contractor shall organize, manage, and conduct training and workshops on technical topics and issues identified through the organization’s steering committee and workgroup structure. Training and workshops include but are not limited to statistical methods and approaches for cancer surveillance, registry operations, training/education needs, leadership, and interoperability issues.  

The Contractor shall organize and run workshops to foster leadership, team building, and work products to address NCI SPR’s goals and objectives. These would include meetings of the Contractor’s leadership, sponsoring member organizations, external experts, Board, and Chairs, including liaisons and steering committees, work groups, and task forces.

The Contractor shall build and enhance ties with cancer surveillance organizations worldwide, improve the worldwide availability of good cancer registry-centered surveillance data, strengthen regional cancer surveillance networks, improve resource sharing among high-quality cancer surveillance systems tailored to low-resource environments, and ensure comparability and utility of American data in resolving large-scale cancer issues and harmonization of data standards.

C. Communications Support    

The Contractor shall support a variety of methods for communicating with the cancer surveillance community, including print media, web-based strategies, conferences, and other emerging technologies, to disseminate critical and relevant information to the cancer surveillance community, population-based cancer registries, and material deemed necessary by the NCI.

TASK AREA 3: REPORTS, DATA USE, AND SPECIAL STUDIES SUPPORT

As cancer surveillance priorities evolve, the Government may request additional analyses or investigations, as directed by the COR, which may require additional resources. The Contractor may also be required to participate in collaborative efforts, at the request of NCI, that use high-quality population-based cancer registry data and to prepare technical reports. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, Data Use and Quality, Research Metrics and Methods, and Social and Economic determinants of disease.

The Contractor shall support a variety of areas related to Reports, Data Use, and Special Studies, which shall include, but not be limited to:

A. Reports Support

The Contractor shall participate in and provide data for the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer (ARN), jointly issued by the American Cancer Society, CDC, NCI, and NAACCR.

  B. Data Use Support

The Contractor shall publish and engage in annual updates for all Cancer in North America (CiNA) products, online query systems, Public Use Files, and research datasets, including the National Childhood Cancer Registry (NCCR) Data Platform. The Contractor shall facilitate the use of data by investigators for research and public health surveillance and promote access to data through secure mechanisms.

 C.  Special Studies in Support of NCI SPR Operations

1. Develop methods and procedures for linkage of confidential registry databases with ecological, epidemiological, and clinical databases and research cohorts.
2. Develop metrics and methods to measure the completeness, timeliness, and quality of data collected by population-based cancer registries.
3.  Participate in the development and application of inter-registry de-duplication methods and the identification of multiple primary cancers across jurisdictions.
4.  Participate in the development and evaluation of appropriate denominators to support basic cancer surveillance and geographically based research.
5.  Participate in the development of methods to efficiently store and transmit cancer surveillance data to stakeholders and researchers.
6. Design, implement, analyze, and interpret results of feasibility, availability, and validation studies of new data items.

TASK AREA 4: REGISTRY OPERATIONS SUPPORT

 A. Guidelines/Standards & Dissemination Support

The Contractor shall develop, implement, and disseminate technical procedures, guidelines, and standards in cancer registry operations that advance the field toward more consistent, efficient, and effective performance, while safeguarding confidentiality and data security.

B. Data Edits

The Contractor shall provide a NAACCR Metafile Administrator to maintain, support, and disseminate the NAACCR edits metafiles across all coding and data exchange versions.

As directed by the COR, the Contractor shall participate in additional data use efforts determined by the NCI to be relevant to the area of cancer surveillance, such as the NCCR program.

C. Methods Support           

The Contractor shall provide support for studies to refine, advance, and promote standards for registry operations methodology, including evaluation and comparability of methods used in central cancer registries to promote and advance best practices related to quality improvement, recommendations processing different types of cancer records, and the use of emerging bioinformatics technologies and data systems.

​​​​​​​D. Geocoding Support

Following technical direction from the COR, the Contractor shall provide technical assistance and management of geocoding services to registries and collaborate with partners to support geocoding activities.

REPORTING REQUIREMENT AND DELIVERABLES:

The Contractor shall provide the following as applicable and required for each task order award. All electronic reports submitted shall be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973:

A. Monthly Teleconference Meeting

Teleconference meeting with the COR and other Program Staff no less than once monthly to report on the project’s status, discuss issues, and any other contract matters.

B. Monthly Contract Status and Progress Summary Report

Submitted a draft report electronically by the 15th calendar day of each month following the reporting period. The final monthly report shall be submitted within five (5) business days after the Contractor’s receipt of the NCI-reviewed draft monthly report.

The format and content of the Report shall include the following:

1. Activities planned for the reporting period;
2. Work and deliverables completed during the reporting period;
3. Status of ongoing activities;
4. Activities planned for the next reporting period;
5. Risks, problems, or issues identified or projected;
6. Alternatives and/or recommended solution(s) for identified or projected problems or issues.

The Contractor shall maintain a means to store and access all documentation generated by the project, including meeting minutes, committee decisions, and project plans. This documentation shall be made available to the COR or designee, various working groups and/or committees, and contractor staff as needed.

C. Final Task Order Report

The Contractor shall submit a final task order report to include a summation of the work performed and results obtained, broken out by the Task Order Statement of Work, for the entire task order period of performance. This report shall be in sufficient detail to describe comprehensively the results achieved. Contents of the report shall follow the general guidelines provided for submitting semi-annual task order reports. A final report shall be submitted on the expiration date of the task order.  A semi-annual task order progress report will not be required for the period when the Final Report is due.

IDIQ ORDERING PERIOD:

The ordering period of the IDIQ contract will be sixty (60) months from date of award.

APPLICABLE CLAUSES:

ORDERING AND ORDERING LIMITATIONS:

1. RFO -FAR 52.216-18 Ordering (Aug. 2020)

          (a). Any supplies and services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of delivery orders or task       orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule. Such orders may be issued from SIXTY (60) months from date of award.

          (b). All delivery orders or task orders are subject to the terms and conditions of this contract. In the event of conflict between a delivery order or task order and this contract, the contract shall control.

         (c) A delivery order or task order is considered "issued" when—

            (1) If sent by mail (includes transmittal by U.S. mail or private delivery service), the Government deposits the order in the mail;

             (2) If sent by fax, the Government transmits the order to the Contractor's fax number; or

             (3) If sent electronically, the Government either—

                 (i) Posts a copy of the delivery order or task order to a Government document access system, and notice is sent to the Contractor; or

                 (ii) Distributes the delivery order or task order via email to the Contractor's email address.

        (d) Orders may be issued by methods other than those enumerated in this clause only if authorized in the contract.

                                                                                          (End of clause)

  2. RFO - FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations (Oct. 1995)

    (a).Minimum order. When the Government requires supplies or services covered by this contract in an amount of less than $1,000.00, the Government is not obligated to purchase, nor is the Contractor obligated to furnish, those supplies or services under the contract.

  (b). Maximum order. The Contractor is not obligated to honor—

1. Any order for a single item in excess of $13,000,000.00;
2. Any order for a combination of items in excess of $17,000,000.00; or
3. A series of orders from the same ordering office within fifteen (15) days that together call for  quantities exceeding the limitation in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section.

  (c).  If this is a requirements contract (i.e., includes the Requirements clause at subsection 52.216-21 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)), the Government is not required to order a part of any one requirement from the Contractor if that requirement exceeds the maximum-order limitations in paragraph (b) of this section.                                                  

  (d).  Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the Contractor shall honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations in paragraph (b), unless that order (or orders) is returned to the ordering office within ten (10) days after issuance, with written notice stating the Contractor’s intent not to ship the item (or items) called for and the reasons. Upon receiving this notice, the Government may acquire the supplies or services from another source.

                                                                                               (End of clause)

  (3). RFO - FAR 52.216-22 Indefinite Quantity (Oct. 1995)

    (a). This is an indefinite-quantity contract for the supplies or services specified and effective for the period stated, in the Schedule. The quantities of supplies and services specified in the Schedule are estimates only and are not purchased by this contract.

    (b).  Delivery or performance shall be made only as authorized by orders issued in accordance with the Ordering clause. The Contractor shall furnish to the Government, when and if ordered, the supplies or services specified in the Schedule up to and including the quantity designated in the Schedule as the "maximum." The Government shall order at least the quantity of supplies or services designated in the Schedule as the "minimum."

   (c). Except for any limitations on quantities in the Order Limitations clause or in the Schedule, there is no limit on the number of orders that may be issued. The Government may issue orders requiring delivery to multiple destinations or performance at multiple locations.

  (d). Any order issued during the effective period of this contract and not completed within that period shall be completed by the Contractor within the time specified in the order. The contract shall govern the Contractor's and Government's rights and obligations with respect to that order to the same extent as if the order were completed during the contract's effective period; provided, that the Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after the expiration of the last Task Order.

                                                                                       (End of clause)

The required support services are provided by the intended Contractor, the NAACCR. The intended Contractor is the only responsible source that can provide the required support services for this requirement. They are a National not-for-profit organization uniquely formed to develop industry-wide standards for Central Cancer Registries and registry personnel to advance the capacity for National cancer surveillance, including the NCI’s SEER Program.  They uniquely have the ability to bring together cancer registry standard-setting organizations, State-wide Central Cancer Registries, hospital cancer registries, and software developers; to leverage its cancer registration subject matter expertise to develop data item definitions, codes, format, transmission record layouts, and timeline for implementation of new standards; to organize committees and workgroups that develop and promote best practices for registry operations and uniform data standards for cancer registration in North America.  For more than three decades, the intended Contractor has developed and promoted standards for data content, quality and use, as well as procedures for registry operations and reporting data. Through the unique capabilities of the intended Contractor, the NCI is able to continue improving the National capacity to study emerging trends and to measure the cancer burden in the United States, which is specifically mandated by the National Cancer Act of 1971. These unique services directly benefit the NCI’s 50+ years of longitudinal research work under the SEER program, pursuant to Public Law 92-218. Should this requirement not be awarded, the NCI would be unable to move forward efficiently with its SEER program, thereby hindering the SEER Program’s ability to provide National-level reporting of cancer cases. This would prevent the SEER program from delivering early cancer data reports to the Research community, the American public, and the global public. This would have a significant impact on the goals and mission of the SEER program, as well as its ability to fulfill its mission in reporting official National cancer statistics in the United States and providing data crucial for conducting robust cancer research in the United States. This requirement ensures the continued evolution of the NCI’s cancer surveillance program to meet the strategic needs of the Division, the NCI, and the Nation.

This notice is not a request for competitive quotation. However, if any interested party, especially small businesses, believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a capability statement or proposal, which shall be considered by the agency.  The statement of capabilities and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the Government to determine if the party can perform the requirement.  Responses must be received in the contracting office by 12:00PM ET, on April 13, 2026.  All responses and questions must be in writing and emailed to Catherine Muir, Contracting Officer via electronic mail at [email protected]. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. No collect calls will be accepted. In order to receive an award, Contractors must be registered and have valid, current Entity Record, including current Representations and Certifications, in the System for Award Management (SAM) through SAM.gov. Reference 75N91026R00001 on all correspondence.