caBig Brochure

ARRA IT Sub-Contracts and the National Cancer Institute


At the December TechFrederick breakfast, Kathleen McCormick and Gene Anderson presented information and opportunities related to caBIG – the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid initiative. This initiative, overseen by the National Cancer Institute Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, received a big boost in ARRA monies. caBIG initiatives are focused in 6 Knowledge Centers across the country.

caBIG Knowledge Centers
There are 6 Knowledge Centers, each led by teams out of Columbia University, Ohio State, University of Michigan Washington University, Duke Univeristy or the Mayo Clinic. These Knowledge Centers include:

  • caGRID
  • Clinical Trials Managment Systems
  • Data Sharing and Intellectual Capital
  • Molecular Analysis Tools
  • Tissue/Biospecimen Banking & Technology Tools
  • Vocabulary

For more information on these Knowledge Centers, visit https://cabig.nci.nih.gov/esn/knowledge_centers.

For more information on the caBIG initiative, visit https://cabig.nci.nih.gov or click here to view the brochure.

Health Care IT Initiative

Healthcare

$20 billion in Federal health care IT contracts will be awarded in 2010 under the CIO/SP3 contract vehicle. This is an excellent opportunity for Frederick-based firms because:

1. There’s an opportunity for “new blood.”

  • Contractors whose work is over budget, late, and not up to snuff are having their contracts reopened for bidding. This includes large Federal contractors.
  • Transparency is emphasized. There are no more no-bid or rigged contracts.
  • Big contracts are being broken up into smaller ones. For instance, a $100 million contract would be divided into two $50 million contracts that can be completed by smaller firms.
  • The Federal government is now favoring teams of smaller companies, rather than large “primes” with lots of “subs.” These contract vehicles have a small business component.

2. They want health-related experience.

  • The contractors and contract teams that win these contracts will have both IT and health-related expertise.
  • Because of Ft. Detrick and the National Cancer Research Center, Frederick has many firms with both.

Local Contract Teams

If your company is interested in being part of a Contract Teaming Arrangement (CTA) to pursue these contracts, contact Donna Goff in the City of Frederick Economic Development office at dgoff@cityoffrederick.com.