Research Report on the U.S. Role in China's Biotechnology Development
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:
November 29, 2017
PERIOD OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION ENDS:
January 10, 2018
ABOUT PROPOSALS. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (hereafter "the Commission") invites submission of proposals to provide a one-time unclassified report on the U.S. role in China's biotechnology development.
ABOUT THE COMMISSION. The Commission was established by Congress in 2000 to monitor and report to Congress on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China. Further details about the Commission are available on its website at: www.uscc.gov.
The Commission solicits this research pursuant to its Congressional mandate (contained in P.L. 113-291, Section 1259B), which states, "The Commission ... shall investigate and report ... on..."
"(B) The qualitative and quantitative nature of the transfer of United States production activities to the People's Republic of China, including the relocation of manufacturing, advanced technology and intellectual property, and research and development facilities, the impact of such transfers on the national security of the United States (including the dependence of the national security industrial base of the United States on imports from China), the economic security of the United States, and employment in the United States, and the adequacy of United States export control laws in relation to the People's Republic of China."
"(D) Foreign investment by the United States in the People's Republic of China and by the People's Republic of China in the United States, including an assessment of its economic and security implications...."
"(H) The drivers, nature, and implications of the growing economic, technological, political, cultural, people-to-people, and security relations of the People's Republic of China's with other countries, regions, and international and regional entities (including multilateral organizations)...."
This report's key research requirements are:
1. Assess the current state of China's biotechnology sector. Provide an overview of the size, nature, scope, and international competitiveness of China's biotechnology sector. Identify the major governmental policies and programs seeking to enhance the performance and capabilities of its domestic biotechnology sector. Identify the major private sector players in terms of research, commercial activities, and funding in China, and summarize their activities and funding. Compare and contrast the capabilities of China vs. the United States and other major Western countries with significant biotechnology sectors.
2. Assess the role of foreign firms and technologies in China's biotechnology development. What are the means by which China acquires foreign technology or know-how? Identify which U.S. and other foreign biotechnologies China has already acquired or is likely to target for acquisition through legal or other means including traditional and cyber-enabled espionage. How, if at all, do these acquisitions and technology transfers align with China's biotechnology objectives as laid out in the Made in China 2025, 13th Five-Year Bioindustry Development Plan, and other biotechnology-related plans? Assess the effectiveness of tools (such as export controls) and resources available to U.S. law enforcement or other relevant agencies to protect sensitive and dual-use biotechnologies.
3. Identify and assess Chinese investment in the U.S. biotechnology industry, including through mergers and acquisitions (M&As), joint ventures (JVs), venture capital investments, and other types of investment. What is the volume of Chinese investment in the U.S. biotechnology industry? How much financing has the Chinese government provided to support these investments? What are the investment patterns of Chinese state-owned or state-invested enterprises, state-sponsored or state-controlled research institutes, national champions, and private firms in biotechnology? What are the trends in the types of biotech capabilities and companies acquired or targeted by Chinese entities over the last five years, and what changes are anticipated in the next five years? What are the patterns in the types of investment (M&As, JVs, etc.) used to acquire technologies? How, if at all, are these investments contributing to the development of China's biotechnology industry? Do acquired firms such as Syngenta still face market barriers to their products (e.g., genetically modified organisms) in China as they faced before acquisition?
4. Assess China's access to U.S. healthcare-related data. What is the importance of healthcare-related data to future biotechnology developments? What activities and investments has China made to build the infrastructure and talent base to support the development of a national data clearinghouse and the requisite tools (e.g., machine learning tools, algorithms)? How are Chinese firms expanding their access to healthcare-related data domestically and internationally? How many, and which, Chinese firms have received U.S. accreditation to carry out genetic sequencing and other diagnostic testing for U.S. citizens? To what extent have U.S. citizens, firms, or research institutes shared healthcare-related data with Chinese firms? Is this access reciprocal for U.S. researchers and firms? What advantages does this access to data provide to Chinese and U.S. firms? What are the U.S. and Chinese legal protections for the U.S. healthcare-related data handled by Chinese firms? Assess the effectiveness of these protections for preventing misuse and ensuring privacy. Does the United States have adequate data protections and, if not, what proposals have been made to enhance security?
5. Assess the establishment of U.S.-based research institutes by Chinese biotechnology firms. What motivates Chinese firms to establish research institutes in the United States? What is the nature of their research and development activities? How, if at all, are these institutes contributing to the development of China's biotechnology industry? What are the opportunities and risks of these research institutes to U.S. economic and national security interests?
6. Assess China's partnerships with U.S. biotechnology firms, universities, research institutes, and non-profits. What relationships, if any, have Chinese firms, research institutes, or universities developed in the United States related to biotechnology? What are the trends in the types of biotech capabilities pursued and how, if at all, do these trends align with China's biotechnology objectives and goals? How have U.S. partners structured these relationships to address risks from China such as fabricated research and clinical data or intellectual property theft? How successful have those efforts been in addressing risks? How, if at all, have these partnerships benefited U.S. researchers or advancements in the field? How, if at all, are these partnerships contributing to the development of China's biotechnology industry? What oversight authority exists within the U.S. government to monitor, assess, and approve of these types of partnerships? What role, if any, should the U.S. government play in these partnerships to maximize the potential benefits while minimizing the potential risks?
The report should include an executive summary of the report's key findings; a brief overview of the sources and analytic methodology used for the report; and a brief explanation of the scope and limitations of the report.
Additional Requirements:
1. Prior to the award of any contract, the contractor must be registered in the federal System for Award Management (SAM).
2. Once the Commission selects a contractor for this project, and a contract is signed, public notice of this may be made on the Commission's website.
3. The Commission's goal is to have a report prepared for review in a timely fashion. In ordinary circumstances, once the Commission selects a contractor and a contract is signed, a draft report must be submitted to the Commission for review no later than 90 days from the date the contract is signed. The Commission will then endeavor to provide comments and requests for adjustments within 30 days; subsequently, the final report must be submitted within 30 days of formal receipt of the Commission's comments. The Commission recognizes, under certain circumstances, a contractor may wish to have more time to prepare the first draft of the report under the contract. The contractor, in their contract proposal, should stipulate the time frame for submission of the draft report. It is to be understood; however, that time is of the essence in completing research contracts for the Commission.
4. As work on the report progresses, the Commission's Research Director shall act as the Commission's representative in monitoring the progress, quality, and responsiveness of the report to the major issues of concern identified in this Request for Proposals (RFP). The Research Director shall, on request to the contractor, be entitled to informal briefings on the status of the research work and to readings of the draft in progress.
5. The report shall be free of typographical errors and conform to the Chicago Manual of Style. Upon receipt of all drafts, the Commission will inspect the document for typographical errors and deviations from the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines. At the discretion of the Commission, if a draft contains excessive deficiencies, the Commission will return the draft to the contractor and request the contractor cure the draft of deficiencies within five (5) working days (not counting weekends and Federal holidays). Upon resubmission of the draft by the contractor to the Commission, should deficiencies remain, the Commission, at its discretion, will submit the draft to its copyeditor for correction, the cost of which ($45.34 per hour) will be deducted from the final cost of the contract. The contract shall be subject to termination if the Commission deems that the work is of unsatisfactory quality.
6. At the Commission's discretion, the report procured via this RFP may be posted on the Commission's website.
7. Each organization or individual responding to this request must warrant they will perform this work solely for the Commission, and the resulting report will not be shared with other parties without the prior written consent of the Commission.
8. The Commission expects contractors to identify all personnel working on the contract, and that there will not be any delegation of responsibilities to other parties without prior written approval of the Commission.
9. After completion of the report, the Commission staff, in consultation with the contractor, will prepare a short summary of the research for posting on the Commission's website and other media. The Commission staff shall consult with the contractor in preparing said document.
10. At the discretion and request of the Commission, the contractor shall, within a year after publication of the report, agree to participate in up for two (2) separate briefings, and up to one (1) public hearing, held by the Commission, of up to two (2) hours each in the Washington, DC area, supported by at least one (1) individual affiliated with the contractor identified as "key personnel." This could include, but not necessarily be limited to, briefing the content of the research to Commissioners and Commission staff, appearing as witnesses at a public hearing held by the Commission, and briefing the content of the research to Members of Congress and/or their staff. No additional remuneration will be provided to the contractor for these briefings or a hearing. The Commission will make a good faith effort to schedule briefings and a hearing at times that are subject to mutual agreement.
Primary Selection Criteria:
1. The Commission will determine which organization or individual responding to this request will be awarded the contract based on a comprehensive "best value" analysis of the proposals received, to include costs, technical value, and ability to complete the work satisfactorily and on time, and past performance with the Commission, if applicable.
2. The primary weighting criterion in selection shall be the assessed qualifications and ability of an organization or individual to address the fundamental research points enunciated above ("key research requirements").
3. The cost and amount of time necessary to complete the report will also be considered as criteria in the selection process.
Proposal submissions should include:
1. A statement of the applicant's relevant qualifications to satisfy the terms of this RFP, to include curricula vitae for personnel intended for work on the project.
2. Identification of the principal researchers who will be responsible for the preparation of the report. It is understood that the designation of the researchers is a critical element of the proposal, and any changes regarding which individuals will be involved in the report's preparation must be approved by the Commission in advance and in writing.
3. A description of the research methodology the applicant proposes to employ. In describing methodology, the submission should provide detailed descriptions of the sources and methods that will be used to research the report's topic and the extent to which Chinese language sources, if any, and other primary materials will be used.
4. A list of any entities for whom you have conducted research or provided consulting services in the past. The Commission understands you may be limited in providing such information by confidentiality agreements.
5. An estimate of the time the applicant will need to complete the required work.
6. The price the applicant will charge to the Commission to complete the work set forth in this RFP.
Organizations and individuals wishing to submit a proposal in response to this RFP must ensure that the response arrives at the location noted below by 5:30PM (EST) on January 10, 2018, or it will not be accepted or considered.
Electronic submissions are acceptable.
Proposals, as well as inquiries or any other correspondence related to this matter, should be directed to:
Katherine Koleski
Research Director
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Hall of the States, Suite 602
444 North Capitol Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
phone: 202-624-1482
e-mail: kkoleski@uscc.gov
Katherine Koleski, Phone 202-624-1482, Fax 202-624-1406, Email kkoleski@uscc.gov
