Project Description
Since 2007, PSA has provided event management for more than 800 projects for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as task orders under the HHS Secretary’s Strategic Sourcing Initiative, an HHS-wide Blanket Purchase Agreement (HHS BPA), our NIH BPA and the NIHCATS II contract. These events have ranged from scientific peer and grant reviews, large grantee meetings, small working groups, special topic symposia, retreats, advisory board and steering committee meetings, and awards ceremonies. Institutes we have supported include: NIAID, NCI, NIAMS, NIEHS, NCBI, NIGMS, NHLBI, NICHD, NIMH, NHGRI, NCCAM, NIA, NIDCR, NINDS, NINR, NIAAA, NLM and the OD.
A major part of our work with the NIH has included working with the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Each year, the NCI conducts multiple meetings of varying scale, from workshops involving 25-50 attendees and conferences bringing together 200-300 people to large-scale events engaging thousands of participants. Since 2007, we have delivered expert logistical support services to and coordinated meetings for NCI similar in size and scope to those highlighted by CNCS.
The following are examples of the different scales of logistical support we have provided to the NCI over the past several years:
NIH/NCI/CBIIT caBIG Annual Meetings: PSA provided a full suite of logistical support services to the caBIG Annual Meetings, which each drew more than 1,000 participants from over 20 countries. The program consisted of several interactive sessions, a Hack-a-thon, and multiple concurrent breakout sessions. We oversaw all logistical arrangements involved in planning and implementing the Annual Meeting; established conference invitational lists; maintained a registration and abstract submission system; conducted marketing activities to increase attendance; built and promoted the events’ websites; and coordinated all travel arrangements, including covering the costs of sponsored travel for non-Federal participants/speakers where designated by the Government. We also supported the second part of the program at both events—the World’s Fair, which consisted of 3 days of exhibits that provided participants opportunities to see caBIG® in action through tools, demos, posters, displays, and a Knowledge Center.
Ongoing Meeting Support: For the past several years, PSA has provided ongoing meeting support to the NCI’s Division of Cancer Biology through more than 35 task order contracts. Since the BPA’s initial award in 2007, we have worked with many important programs, including the Tumor Microenvironment Network, Mouse Models of Human Cancers Consortium, and the Integrative Cancer Biology Program. PSA coordinates the logistics for up to 30 NCI meetings per year. Events have ranged from advisory board meetings and steering committees to summits, grantee training events, and workshops. PSA provides NCI a comprehensive array of logistical support services, including: arranging participant travel; managing hotel accommodations; securing meeting space; ensuring A/V is in place and appropriate to each meeting; managing equipment vendors supplier; providing printing and materials creation services; creating promotional concepts and materials; and developing layouts, formats and graphics for print materials as needed. We also provide onsite management and registration, and day-of and post-conference activities requested by the NCI.
