1. General Information

a. Purpose. This request for proposal (RFP) is to contract for Health Economics Consulting to be provided to Praxis Spinal Cord Institute (Praxis), specifically health economic analyses to support policy recommendations.

b. Who May Respond. Researchers, consultants or organizations with health economics and policy expertise in Canada. Expertise in spinal cord injury (SCI) and/or experience developing policy for government reimbursement would be considered an asset.

Praxis encourages proposals from under-represented groups including women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people who are part of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, religious minority groups and racialized people, neurodiverse individuals, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

c. Instructions on Proposal Submission:

i. Closing Submission Date. Proposals must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm PT on Friday, December 13, 2024.

ii. Enquiries. Inquiries concerning this RFP should be directed to: Dr. Vanessa Noonan Email: vnoonan@praxisinstitute.org

iii. Instructions to Offerors. Your proposal should be addressed as follows:
Dr. Vanessa Noonan
Director of Research and Best Practice Implementation
Email: vnoonan@praxisinstitute.org

*It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the proposal is received by Praxis, by the date and time specified above. Late proposals will not be considered.

iv. Conditions of Proposal. All costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responding to this RFP will be the responsibility of the Offeror and will not be reimbursed by Praxis.

v. Right to Reject. Praxis reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received in response to this RFP.

vi. Notification of Award. It is expected that a decision selecting the successful candidate will be made within one week of the closing date for the receipt of proposals. Upon conclusion of final negotiations with the successful candidate, all Offerors submitting proposals in response to this RFP will be informed, in writing of the decision.

vii. Term of Engagement. The engagement will be from January 6, 2025 through August 29, 2025.

d. Description of Our Organization:

Praxis is a not-for-profit organization that leads global collaboration in SCI research, innovation and care. We accelerate the translation of discoveries and best practices into improved treatments for people with SCI. Our vision is a world without paralysis after SCI.

Driven by the priorities of people with SCI, the three distinct areas of focus for Praxis are:

• Mobilize translational research and best practice implementation;
• Incorporate active involvement of PLEX of SCI across research and innovation programs;
• Accelerate SCI innovation into adoption.

From our home in Vancouver, Canada we facilitate an international network of people with SCI and world-class experts who work together to identify, prioritize and solve the most urgent challenges. To achieve this, we take a multi-disciplinary, adaptable approach to maximize our impact. This enables us to move the most promising ideas out of the laboratory, into both standards of care for people with SCI. We also work to get new technologies from idea, to development, and ultimately available to improve the lives of those living with SCI. See Praxis website for more information.

2. SCOPE OF SERVICES. The Offeror shall be readily available to perform the following knowledge translation services, as requested by the Dr. Vanessa Noonan:

1. After reviewing the Essential Needs report, conduct an environmental scan including a global literature search on reimbursement for durable (e.g. wheelchairs) and disposable (e.g. urinary catheters) medical equipment for people living with SCI and key informant interviews with other national health economics frameworks in other population groups. The goal of the scan is to identify and summarize all studies evaluating cost-effectiveness of public provision of these types of equipment, focusing on provision for the SCI population, and to identify which countries/jurisdictions have evaluated and built a health economics case for reimbursing individual costs. It will be valuable to incorporate an equity lens into the health economic analysis to ensure the framework addresses disparities in access among underrepresented populations (e.g. rural or Indigenous communities).

2. Develop a plan that outlines the required activities to:

a. Generate health economic data that will support policies focused on the reimbursement for durable and disposable medical equipment for people living with SCI; and

b. Engage with key partners, such as provincial health authorities or patient advocacy groups, to ensure that the policy recommendations from this work will be actionable and aligned with real-world needs.

3. Upon approval of the plan, conduct the analyses and partner engagement.

4. Prepare a report outlining:

a. Findings from the environmental scan and the health economic analysis;

b. Key policy recommendations that could be used as a model for provincial adoption to support reimbursement for durable and disposable medical equipment for people living with SCI; and

c. Future research opportunities including work to support long-term improvements, such as the integration of assistive technology or patient-reported outcomes related to quality of life, and to continue benchmarking international practices against countries with well-regarded universal healthcare systems to refine the national standard.

This work is to be done in close collaboration with Praxis and the Project Team (Dr. Kristine Cowley at the University of Manitoba and Mr. Peter Athanasopoulos at Spinal Cord Injury Ontario).

The budget to complete this phase is a maximum of $40,000 CAD.

Key Deliverables/Milestones	Target Completion Date
Environmental scan (literature search and key informant interviews) conducted. Virtual information session with industry of durable and disposable medical equipment hosted. Key health economic questions to evaluate identified.	March, 2025
Plan finalized with Praxis and Project Team.	April, 2025
Activities outlined in the plan completed.	June, 2025
Report finalized and submitted to Praxis.	August, 2025

Offeror shall be prepared to submit detailed billing statements for all services billed at an hourly rate, if any, broken down into time increments of no more than a quarter hour. Offeror shall also include summaries of work performed and time spent on services performed, as discussed below.

3. PROPOSAL CONTENTS. The Offeror, in its proposal, shall, as a minimum, include the following:

a. Experience: The Offeror should describe its health economics and policy experience, which should include the following categories:

i. Experience providing health economics and policy recommendations for non-profit or charitable organizations. Provide copies of relevant published health economics articles you feel best demonstrates your experience.

ii. Experience providing health economics and policy work for clients conducting similar programs and government or donor‐funded services

b. Organization Information: If the Offeror is an organization, it should describe its organization type, size, structure, areas of practice, and office location(s), the resumes of staff likely to be assigned to the project, and, if applicable, shall attach a certificate of good standing.

c. Individual Information: If the Offeror is an individual, they should include a resume which describes their education and employment to date.

d. Staff Background Checks and Qualifications: The Offeror should describe the background checks and qualifications of staff to be assigned to the project. Descriptions should include:

i. Education, employment, and background check of each staff;

ii. Overall supervision to be exercised; and

iii. Prior experience of the individual staff with respect to the required experience listed above.

Only include resumes of staff likely to be assigned to the project. Background, position in the
organization, years and types of experience, and continuing professional education will be
considered.

e. Structure: The Offeror should describe the structure to deliver the scope of work. Descriptions should include format for delivering the scope of work, and, if relevant, the allocation of responsibilities and the overall supervision to be exercised.

f. Cost: The Offeror’s proposed price should not exceed $40,000 CAD and include information on the billing rates of each staff who is expected to work on this project and charges for expenses, if any, such as travel, research, and copies. Also include a monthly flat fee as part of the price that would be charged to advise on routine matters that could be handled over the telephone or otherwise without extensive research or other work. The Offeror should also include any in-kind value in the proposal, as applicable. Praxis reserves the right to negotiate with the Offeror on the structure of the billing and/or retainer fee.

g. Availability: The Offeror should clearly state their availability to deliver the services in-person and online, and any potential restrictions.

h. References: Provide three references (names, contact persons, telephone numbers and emails), preferably clients similar to Praxis.

i. Confidentiality and conflict of interest. The Offeror must ensure the confidentiality of information obtained as a result of their involvement with this project is maintained. The successful Offeror will be required to comply with Praxis’ Confidentiality Agreement and Conflict of Interest policies.

j. Independence. The Offeror must provide a statement confirming their independence from Praxis

4. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

a. Submission of Proposals. All proposals shall be submitted to vnoonan@praxisinstitute.org by December 13, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST.

b. Evaluation Procedure and Criteria. A review committee will review proposals and may request an interview or meeting with some qualified Offerors prior to final selection. Proposals will be reviewed in accordance with the following criteria:

Proposed approach to scope of work	25%
Experience with similar clients and type of service matters	25%
Qualifications	20%
Cost and Availability	20%
Communication style and clarity in interview	5%
Response from references	5%

This work is jointly funded by the Praxis Spinal Cord Institute and the Spinal Cord Injury Ontario.