Large-scale Participatory Community Based Surveillance Study- EMEN

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), an Executive Agent of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the nation's expert health security agency. This pre-market engagement is not a competitive process but is intended to help UKHSA assess options for the contingent development of large-scale community-based surveillance studies and develop full end-end capabilities. Large-scale Community Based Surveillance population studies may include some or all of the following components from the market: Participant portal and questionnaire platform with integration with additional existing fulfilment streams, and population representative cohort.

Background:

UKHSA’s mission is to protect each member of every community from the impact of infectious diseases, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents, and other health threats. We provide scientific, clinical and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as international, to make the nation's health secure.

One requirement is the maintenance of a contingency large-scale population study capable of estimating the baseline prevalence and rate of change of a given pathogen in the community. This “participatory community-based surveillance” relies on some form of self-reported information from enrolled citizens, often supplemented through biological testing, either actively as part of a defined study (such as the ONS-operated Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey or Schools Infection Survey, UKHSA-led Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, or the Imperial College London-led REACT study), or through passive citizen-led submission of information (such as the Zoe Symptom Study and App.).

Large scale population studies of this type require participation from a population that can form a representative sample set – either general population or within defined sub-groups, such as adult social care, or nursery and school-age children. For the most part any inter-incident activity would be at very low levels to test operations but must be capable of being scalable with rapid activation and modular design, enabling the flexible and rapid addition of new questions, data fields, or diagnostics in response to incidents.

This requirement is for the procurement one or more of the following:

1. A participant portal to manage study enrolment, consent, questionnaire and testing data, and enable physical fulfilment integration; or
2. a ready participant cohort, statistically representative of the population according to key characteristics, in particular age, ethnicity, gender, deprivation level, urban v. rural, and large enough to meet the sampling frame (see below). Geographic distribution would be across all English regions and could cover the Devolved Administrations;
3. both a participant portal to manage enrolment, consent, questionnaire and testing data, and physical fulfilment integration, and to develop and maintain a readiness cohort of a ready participant cohort, statistically representative of the population according to key characteristics, in particular age, ethnicity, gender, deprivation level, urban v. rural, and large enough to meet the sampling frame (see below). Geographic distribution would be across all English regions and could cover the Devolved Administrations.
4. An innovative solution which achieves the essential Outcomes specified in option 1-3 but delivered through an alternative approach

The purpose of this Engagement is to enhance the Authority's understanding of the marketplace and its options for sourcing for a potential future requirement. The issuance of this Early market engagement does not constitute a sourcing exercise nor will the Authority pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this EMEN, should you have any questions or queries relating to this RFI, please use the Atamis portal's messaging Centre to direct your questions to us for a response.

All communications must be sent through the e- tendering Portal

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Atamis project reference:C390300