SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Branding Study
- Notice Date
- 11/9/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541910
— Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- SB1341-07-RQ-0011
- Response Due
- 11/22/2006
- Archive Date
- 12/7/2006
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is SB1341-07-RQ-0011. The solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). This acquisition is being conducted pursuant to FAR Subpart 13.5. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 05-13. This solicitation is being conducted on a competitive small business set-aside basis. The NAICS code for this solicitation is 541910, and the small business size standard for that NAICS code is $6.5 million. The list of contract line item number(s) and items, quantities and units of measure are as follows: Item No. 0001, Contractor Completion of Requirements Detailed in Performance Work Statement (PWS) Below; Quantity: 1; Unit: Job. Item No. 0002, Contractor Travel associated with Item No. 0001; Unit: Lot (Not-to-Exceed $7,000, and to be reimbursed in accordance with FAR 31.205-46, plus G&A burden, if applicable). PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS): BACKGROUND The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established by Congress in 1987 to improve the competitiveness of U.S. organizations. The Award recognizes U.S. organizations for their performance improvements and raises awareness about the importance of organizational performance excellence as a competitive edge. Over the nearly 20 years since the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established, the field of organizational performance management has evolved from a narrow focus on product and service quality to an enterprise-level focus on overall organizational performance. In addition, the leaders of U.S. organizations, particularly the CEO?s of large companies, have shifted their focus away from quality and toward what they view as more strategic matters, such as globalization and strategy execution. In essence, they view quality as an operational issue, not worthy of executive attention. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria (the Criteria for Performance Excellence) have evolved to stay on the leading edge of validated U.S. management practice, and the Criteria address the current issues facing the leaders of U.S. organizations. However, the name of the Award has not been kept current with these changes. It no longer reflects the modern view of performance management or captures the hearts and minds of the leaders of U.S organizations, particularly large manufacturing and service organizations. Accordingly, there is a need to rename the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to make it current with changes to the Baldrige Criteria and U.S. management practice. To this end, the Baldrige National Quality Program seeks to conduct a branding study of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to identify a new name for it. 1. SCOPE OF WORK - The purpose of this requirement is to conduct a branding study to identify a recommended new name for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as well as identify a ?tagline? that will be used in concert with the new name. To this end, the Contractor shall achieve the following objectives: - Conduct a broad-based survey of the Baldrige National Quality Program customer and stakeholder base to identify current perceptions of the value and equity of the Baldrige brand. - Analyze and synthesize the data gathered from this survey and use it to identify potential new names and taglines for the program. - Develop multiple proposed new names and taglines for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. - Test the proposed new names and taglines with a broad-base of customers and stakeholders to ensure that the names have validity and relevancy in the marketplace. - Analyze and synthesize the data from these tests and develop a prioritized list of new names and taglines for the Award. The Contractor shall complete all of this work within 14 weeks of acceptance of the resultant purchase order. Contractor travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Chapter 301 of the Federal Travel Regulation, insofar as they do not exceed $7,000. 2. SPECIFIC TASKS - The Contractor shall: - Meet in-person or via conference call with the NIST Technical Point of Contact/Order Contact (P/OC) and their designees to review the scope, activities, timeline, and deliverables for the project. This meeting shall take place within one week of the requirement being awarded. - Conduct a broad-based customer survey of the Baldrige National Quality Program customer and stakeholder base to identify current perceptions of the value and equity of the Baldrige brand. The customer and stakeholder base includes several thousand individuals from organizations throughout the United States. The survey should be administered to as many as possible of these individuals. The survey questions shall be developed by the Contractor and submitted to the NIST technical P/OC for their review and approval, and the final survey instrument and communications that accompany the instrument shall be approved by the NIST technical P/OC before the survey is administered. The specific sample population shall also be approved by the NIST technical P/OC. - Analyze and synthesize the data from the surveys and produce a report for use by the Baldrige National Quality Program. The survey report shall contain the methods used in the survey, the key findings from the research-including a list of potential names and taglines based on the research, and other sections to be determined in concert with the Baldrige National Quality Program. This report shall be provided to the NIST technical P/OC for their review. The raw data from the survey shall also be provided to the NIST technical P/OC if requested. - Meet with the NIST P/OC and their designees to present and review the findings from the survey report and identify potential new names and taglines for the program. The Contractor shall coordinate with the NIST P/OC to set the agenda for the meeting, and the Contractor shall facilitate the meeting. The agenda for the meeting shall be approved by the NIST Technical P/OC in advance of the meeting. The outcome of the meeting shall be the identification of an agreed upon list of multiple proposed new names and taglines for the Award. - Test the proposed new names and taglines with a broad-base of customers and stakeholders to ensure that the names and taglines have validity and relevancy in the marketplace. The sample population for the test should include the customers and stakeholders who were previously surveyed or some subset of these groups. The Contractor shall obtain written approval from the NIST Technical P/OC for the specific testing methodology and the sample population prior to commencing the testing. - Analyze and synthesize the data from the name and tagline testing and produce a report for use by the Baldrige National Quality Program. The survey report shall contain the methods used in the testing, the key findings from the research-including a prioritized list of proposed names and taglines for the program, and other sections to be determined in concert with the Baldrige National Quality Program. The Contractor shall provide this report to the NIST Technical P/OC and their designees. Upon request by the NIST Technical P/OC, the Contractor shall also provide the ?raw data? obtained by the Contractor from the testing. - Meet with the NIST Technical P/OC and their designees to present and review the findings from the testing report and validate the prioritized list of new names and taglines for the program. The Contractor shall coordinate the agenda with the NIST Technical P/OC, and the Contractor shall facilitate the meeting. The Contractor shall obtain written approval from the NIST Technical P/OC for the agenda in advance of the meeting. As a result of the meeting, the Contractor shall identify and create a prioritized list of new names and taglines for the Baldrige National Quality Award. 2. DELIVERABLES AND REPORTS - The Contractor shall provide all of the following deliverables/reports to the NIST Technical P/OC. Unless otherwise stated, all materials shall be provided electronically in Microsoft Word format or other Microsoft Office applications. - Project plan and timeline - Sample of the value and equity of the Baldrige brand survey instrument and associated communications materials (e.g., cover letter for instrument). - Listing of names of people who will receive the value and equity survey (i.e., sample population) - Professional quality report (25 professionally produced paper copies) showing the results of the value and equity survey research. The Contractor shall produce the report as detailed in Section 3 of this document, ?Specific Activities.? - Agenda for meeting to review the findings of the value and equity survey research. - Proposed new names and taglines for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, as determined at the meeting on the value and equity survey research. - Sample of name and tagline testing instrument and associated communications materials (e.g., cover letter for the instrument) - Listing of names of people who will receive the name and tagline testing instrument (i.e., sample population) - Professional quality report (25 professionally produced paper copies) showing the results of the name and tagline testing research and other sections to be determined by the NIST Technical P/OC. This will be the final report for this project. The Contractor shall produce the report as detailed in Section 3 of this document, ?Specific Activities.? - Agenda for meeting to review the findings of the name and tagline testing research. - Prioritized list of new names and taglines for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, as determined at the meeting on the name and tagline testing research. 3. DELIVERABLE DUE DATES AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE - Period of Performance: Fourteen weeks, beginning on date of Contractor acceptance of purchase order. The Contractor shall provide a draft of each deliverable listed below (except for project plan and timeline, and the sample value and equity survey instrument and associated communications materials) to the NIST Technical P/OC at least ten business days prior to the deadlines noted in Section 5, ?Deliverable Due Dates and Periods of Performance.? The Contractor?s final deliverables that address NIST Technical P/OC written comments are due no later than the dates specified below. - Draft of the project plan and timeline prepared by the Contractor and provided to the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 5 business days after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Project plan and timeline prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 1 week after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Draft of the sample value and equity survey instrument and communications materials prepared by the Contractor ? due no later than 2 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order. - Sample value and equity survey instrument and communications prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 3 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Listing of names who will receive the survey compiled by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 3 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Professional quality report showing the results of the value and equity survey research prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 8 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Agenda for meeting to review the findings of the value and equity survey research prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 8 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Proposed new names and taglines for the Baldrige National Quality Award are identified at meeting with NIST Technical P/OC and their designees ? due no later than 9 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Sample of name and tagline testing instrument and associated communications materials prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 9 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Listing of names of people who will receive the name and tagline testing instrument compiled by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 9 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Agenda for meeting to review the findings of the name and tagline testing research prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 12 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Prioritized list of new names and taglines for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is validated at the meeting with the NIST Technical P/OC and their designees ? due no later than 13 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Professional quality report showing the results of the name and tagline testing research and other sections prepared by the Contractor and approved in writing by the NIST Technical P/OC ? due no later than 14 weeks after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order - Weekly written progress reports to the NIST Technical P/OC that document the work completed for the week and the work expected to be completed in the coming week ? due weekly starting on the 14th day after Contractor acceptance of the resultant purchase order. These reports should include response rates segmented by stakeholder/customer groups as the surveys are being conducted. 4. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, DATA, AND EQUIPMENT AND/OR INFORMATION - The NIST Technical P/OC will provide the Contractor with the list of customer and stakeholder names (including contact information) for the value and equity survey and the name testing research. This list is subject to the Restrictions Against Disclosure clause. The NIST Technical P/OC will provide written comments back to the Contractor within one week of receipt of each draft deliverable. The NIST Technical P/OC will provide meeting space, audiovisual support, and basic supplies and materials for all in-person meetings associated with this project. 5. MONITORING METHODS/PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - The NIST Technical P/OC will determine the quality of the aforementioned services and deliverables using the following performance standards and measures/methods. - All Contractor tasks and deliverables, including the administration of the value and equity survey and the name testing, shall be completed by the deadlines established in Section 5, ?Deliverable Due Dates and Periods of Performance.? - All tasks shall meet the minimum requirements established in Section 3, ?Specific Tasks.? - Final versions of all project deliverables shall be provided by the deadlines noted in Section 5, ?Deliverable Due Dates and Periods of Performance.? - All deliverables, including the survey/research instruments and reports, will be assessed by the NIST Technical P/OC and their designees for clarity, accuracy, and utility. No deliverable should require more than two versions (draft and final). The final version of all deliverables shall be error-free and completely address the feedback provided by the NIST Technical P/OC on the draft version. The above performance standards and measures/methods will be administered through the following Quality Assurance Plan. QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN I. Objective: The purpose of this plan is to provide a quality surveillance plan for the Baldrige Branding Study performed for the Baldrige National Quality Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This plan provides the basis for the Baldrige Program to evaluate the quality of the Contractor?s performance and ensure that service levels reach and maintain the required levels throughout the requirement term. II. Performance Standards: A. Timeliness: By monitoring the Contractor, NIST Technical P/OC will determine whether the quality standards (i.e., performance standards) set forth in the Section 8, ?Monitoring Methods/Performance Standards,? have been attained. B. Frequency: During the performance of this contract, the NIST Technical P/OC will routinely assess the performance of the Contractor, as specified, and will analyze whether the frequency of assessment is appropriate for the work being performed. C. Management Responsiveness: The NIST Technical P/OC will determine whether the Contractor has managed the requirement efficiently and effectively, in adherence with the requirements and performance standards set forth in the contract. D. Evaluation Methods: i. Monitoring of PWS Tasks: The NIST Technical P/OC will regularly monitor the Contractor to ensure effective and efficient completion all requirement tasks. The NIST Technical P/OC will review the weekly written progress reports submitted to them by the Contractor to monitor the Contractor?s performance and will provide feedback, as necessary, to the Contractor. ii. Inspection of PWS Deliverables: The NIST Technical P/OC will inspect all deliverables to ensure that they meet the requirements set forth in Section 8 of this PWS, ?Monitoring Methods/Performance Standards.? The NIST Technical P/OC will review each of the Contractor?s draft deliverables to determine whether they meet minimum requirements set forth in the PWS. The Contractor shall submit the final version of each deliverable only after receiving written approval for the draft of that document from the NIST Technical P/OC. iii. Clarity: Will be assessed using the Chicago Manual of Style (Online at chicagomanualofstyle.org). iv. Accuracy: The final reports shall be error free and completely address the feedback provided by the NIST Technical P/OC on the draft version. v. Utility: Utility of the value and equity survey report will be assessed based on its ability to deliver a proposed list of names and taglines acceptable to the NIST Technical P/OC. vi. Utility: The utility of the name and tagline will be assessed based on its ability to deliver a prioritized list of names and taglines acceptable to the NIST Technical P/OC. QUOTATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Quotations may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in this solicitation. At a minimum, each quotation shall include: 1) The solicitation number; 2) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror;: 3) A firm-fixed-price for CLIN 0001 (which may be broken down as a separate firm-fixed-price for each PWS Deliverable in Section 2 of the PWS); 4) A detailed technical approach for how the offeror proposes to satisfy the requirements of CLIN 0001; 5) Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments (if any); 6) Past performance information, to include recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar services and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information); and 7) If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. Quotations shall remain valid for 60 days after the closing date of this RFQ. QUOTATIONS SHALL BE SUBMITTED BY EMAIL in Microsoft Word format, Microsoft Excel format, Rich Text (.txt) Format and/or Adobe .pdf format to drincon@nist.gov, and a courtesy copy to jwiddup@nist.gov, so that they are received at these email addresses no later than 2:00 p.m. eastern time on November 22, 2006. Quotations shall include the seven (7) items specified in the Quotation Submission Instructions, above. FAXED QUOTATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. NOTE: The terms and conditions that will be included in the resultant purchase order will be FAR clause 52.212-4 and FAR clause 52.212-5, with the appropriate subparagraphs as noted in this RFQ also applying. CAR clauses 1352.237-73, 1352.209-72, will also apply to the resultant purchase order. No other terms and conditions will apply to the purchase order. QUOTATION EVALUATION FACTORS: The Government intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase order to the responsible Offeror whose quotation is deemed to represent the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The evaluation factors are as follows: - Corporate Experience: Relevance of corporate experience in conducting branding studies for large organizations. - Technical Approach: Quality of quoted technical approach for meeting the requirements set forth in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) - Past Performance Information: Quality of past performance for similar contracts completed within the past three years. In the event of no past performance information, the Government will assign a "neutral" rating for this factor. - Qualifications of Proposed Key Personnel: Qualifications (education and experience) of proposed project manager as set forth on their resume submitted with their quotation. - Price. For evaluation purposes, the Government will use a travel cost ceiling of $7,000 for all quotations, in addition to the quoted price for Item 0001. The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition: Provisions: FAR 52.212-1; FAR 52.212-3. Clauses: FAR 52.204-9; FAR 52.212-4; FAR 52.212-5 including subparagraphs: 52.219-6; 52.222-3; 52.222-19; 52.222-21; 52.222-26; 52.222-35; 52.222-36; 52.222-37; 52.225-13; 52.232-33. All FAR clauses may be viewed at http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html. Applicable Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) clauses include: CAR 1352.237-73; CAR 1352.209-72. The CAR clauses may be viewed at: http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/CAPPS_car.html. Applicable National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) clauses include: QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS SOLICITATION MUST BE SENT BY EMAIL ONLY TO drincon@nist.gov, with a courtesy copy to jwiddup@nist.gov, AND MUST BE RECEIVED AT THAT EMAIL ADDRESS NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2006. Any amendments to this solicitation will be posted at www.fbo.gov only and will not be released by other means to potential offerors.
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