NICE External Assessment Centre Framework

NICE is seeking to commission external assessment centres (EACs) which will provide a range of health technology assessment services to support its technology evaluation programmes and related activities. Suppliers must be able to provide all services within a Lot and suppliers can bid for 1 or more Lots. NICE will consider bids from multidisciplinary centres with knowledge and expertise in health technology assessment, enhanced for Lots 1, 2 and 3 by a demonstrably close association with frontline clinical services in areas related to medical technologies such as imaging or in vitro diagnostics. Suppliers intending to provide services in Lot 4 will have significant expertise and experience of advanced HTA methods, and be able to provide the service in relation to pharmaceuticals, medical and diagnostic technologies and related products. NICE will consider proposals from consortia or networks of organisations meeting the selection criteria and encourages potential suppliers to explore collaborations that will result in the offer of a comprehensive range of services.

NICE commissions EACs to support its technology evaluation programmes in the following key areas and tasks, which are more fully described in specification documents specific to each Lot:

Lot 1 - Secondary data analysis

Lot 2 - Primary data generation and analysis

Lot 3 - Technical and regulatory support

Lot 4 - Decision support

Additional information: NICE commissions EACs to support its technology evaluation programmes in the following key areas and tasks, which are more fully described in specification documents specific to each Lot:

Lot 1 - Secondary data analysis

Including: critical appraisal of submitted evidence to support the development of NICE outputs; evidence synthesis; de novo economic modelling and critiquing and revising existing models; updating information and evidence on technologies to support guidance review; preparation of evidence summaries on new and novel technologies; systematic review and meta-analysis to support NICE's assessment of the safety and efficacy of new interventional procedures involving medical devices; market intelligence analysis; supporting identification, topic selection and scoping of medtech products, including topics identified by non-commercial sponsors, where a NICE output could be of benefit.

Lot 2 - Primary data generation and analysis

Including: protocol development for promising technologies where the available evidence is insufficient to recommend routine adoption; pragmatic facilitation of collaborative research acting as the academic lead and research sponsor where needed, on clinical, laboratory, and methodological projects investigating the clinical utility of specific healthcare technologies; real-world evidence collection activities including establishing patient registries, analysing register data, and similar schemes; the specification, compilation, validation and analysis of datasets including linkage with other "real-life" data sources. This may include analysis of data protection/information governance and preparation of paperwork as required. The EAC may be required to manage a third party to undertake data collection and analysis, developing the contractual paperwork and holding the budget for the work as necessary. This may include advice on research governance and ethics support.

Lot 3 - Technical and regulatory support

Including: technical assessment of CE marked medical devices to inform effective use, and to support NICE's adoption advice; technical supplements on products in published NICE guidance; ad hoc technical advice; regulatory analysis including identification of CE marked devices used within new or novel interventional procedures.

Lot 4 - Decision support

Including: providing technical support to evaluation programmes; advanced methodological development for all types of health technologies, including pharmaceuticals, medical and diagnostic technologies and related products; providing educational support; providing advanced methodological, analytical and other ad hoc support to NICE and its independent advisory bodies on the assessment of medicines and medical technologies; providing quality assurance of economic models and other EAC outputs.