Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 03, 2010 FBO #3266
SOLICITATION NOTICE

R -- National Veteran Mailed Survey

Notice Date

11/1/2010
 

Notice Type

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
 

NAICS

541611 — Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;VA Boston Healthcare System;Contracting Officer (90C);940 Belmont Street;Brockton MA 02301
 

ZIP Code

02301
 

Solicitation Number

VA24111RQ0059
 

Response Due

11/9/2010
 

Archive Date

11/27/2010
 

Point of Contact

Craig Toland
 

E-Mail Address

lmont
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Solicitation Number: VA-241-11-RQ-0059 Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Synopsis: This is a COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in subpart 12.6, in conjunction with the policies and procedures for solicitation, evaluation, and award as prescribed under FAR 13.1, and as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) The solicitation number is VA-241-11-RQ-0059 and is issued as a Request For Quotation (RFQ) (iii) The provisions and clauses incorporated into this solicitation document are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-45, October 1, 2010. Provisions and clauses incorporated by reference have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations supplement (VAAR) can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.arnet.gov/far (FAR) and http://vaww.appc1.va.gov/oamm/vaar (VAAR) (iv) This solicitation is issued as an open market solicitation. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541611, and the size standard is $7.0 million. (v) This requirement consists of one (1) line item: CLIN (1) National Mailed Survey of Veterans from both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom as outlined in the Statement of Work (vi) The following STATEMENT OF WORK is a detailed description of the requirements for this solicitation: Statement of Work General description The aim of the work is to conduct a national mailed survey of veterans from both Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) as a part of a VA HS&RD funded research project that examines factors that influence service use, including health, among OEF/OIF veterans. The survey shall be prepared, printed, and mailed to 2900 potential research participants. Period of Performance The contract shall run from date of award through July 31, 2011. The first phase, which shall be completed by December 31, 2010, vendor shall complete all formatting of the hard-copy survey, including question wording and flow, skip patterns, and user-friendly instructions. The survey will then be professionally printed as saddle-back booklets. Finally, the survey will programmed with a data entry routine and the database that will receive the responses shall be created. The second phase, which shall be completed by June 1, 2011, a 5-stage mailing shall be administered to all 2900 potential participants. The mailing shall be conducted in 7 overlapping batches. Concurrent with the second phase will be the third phase which shall be completed by June 20, 2011, and will include detailed survey response tracking and reporting. In the fourth and final phase, which shall be completed by July 31, 2011, all data from returned surveys shall be entered and delivered to VA Boston. History of HS&RD Ongoing Study The work entailed in this solicitation is part of a VA funded research study. All the text included in the materials sent to participants (i.e. cover letter, informed consent fact sheet, survey instruments, and reminder postcards) have been scripted by the VA study principal investigator (PI) and have received appropriate IRB and R&D approvals. The current study is in its second phase, with the first phase having been devoted to conducting and analyzing data from focus groups to assist in the development of the surveys to be administered to participants in the second phase. Deliverables and Requirements Given the nature of the comprehensive survey instrument and large-scale survey research design, it is essential that the selected contractor yield the best quality product (i.e. finalized survey instrument), the highest possible response rates, and maximized data security. In addition, the contractor must have several layers of data security protection and credentialing in place. Included shall be the staff ™s completion of training on the protection of human subjects, via the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, as well as a federal wide agreement for protection of human subjects. It is essential that the contractor have a proven track record of maintaining the security and confidentiality of files and sensitive data, as this characteristic is essential to the successful execution of this research project. Furthermore, the contractor must demonstrate significant experience with studies involving survey research for national projects comprised of large samples (more than 1000 participants), particularly those involving difficult to reach populations. The contractor must also possess expertise in conducting projects in the content area of mental health with veterans, as evidenced by recent of current projects with the Veterans Administration. It is important that the contractor be accomplished in designing and executing data collection methods that yield the highest possible response rates. Finally, co-ordination of tasks and project deliverables will necessitate frequent in-person meetings over the course of this project, so geographical proximity to the greater Boston area is preferred. Contractor shall administer surveys and supplemental materials (provided by PI or Project Coordinator) as follows: a.Contractor shall be responsible the hiring and training of all personnel needed to complete tasks associated with the contract. In addition, the contractor shall ensure that all personnel have received training in date security, privacy, and the protection of human participants and maintain this training for the duration of the contract period, and shall supply documentation of these trainings. b.Contractor shall assist in the finalization of procedures and methods for the study using expertise in conducting survey research. c.Contractor shall attend monthly research meetings related to the project. Contractor shall also provide weekly updates on work progress to PI or Project Coordinator via email, telephone, and in-person meetings. d.Contractor shall submit a data security protocol for confidential data that must be approved by the PI prior to Contractor ™s receipt of participants ™ information. This protocol will then be submitted by the PI as a data security agreement to the VA Boston IRB committee. Specifically, this data security protocol must document the security mechanisms in place at each of the following levels: the building in which the contractor ™s office is located; Contractor;s office space; the computer on which sensitive data will be stored and accessed; and the file(s) in which the sensitive data are contained. At a minimum, these mechanisms must include securely locked and adequately staffed facilities; limited access to both the physical space in which the data are located and to the data itself by authorized personnel only; password protection and encryption of relevant electronic files and computers; and storage of the original data delivery mechanism and any relevant paper documents in a locked safe. e.Contractor must clearly outline the plan for the safe destruction of all files, both electronic and hardcopy, and other study materials containing data or participant information upon completion of the final deliverable for this contract. In addition, contractor must have an established protocol for any security breaches that may occur. f.Contractor shall perform final formatting of the survey instrument to maximize readability and ease of completion, while minimizing paper usage and weight. In addition, contractor shall print, copy, and assemble bi-color surveys using the appropriate weight and type of paper. g.Contractor shall prepare mailings containing the cover letter, informed consent fact sheet, survey instrument, incentive checks, business reply return envelopes, and postcards. Contractor will incur all costs associates with USPS postage, packaging, shipping, as well as mailing supplies, paper, and reproduction of the survey. h.Contractor will be responsible for communication with VA study personnel, via secure methods, about which participants returned the surveys so that payment of participant incentives may be coordinated. Specifically, contractor shall assign a unique participant ID number to each survey for the purposes of tracking which participants have returned the completed survey so that these participants will not receive unnecessary reminder mailings. As participants return the completed surveys, contractor will use the participant IDs to make a hardcopy list, on a weekly basis, of the names of all participants who returned a completed survey. Checks will be included with the initial mailings to all potential research participants via USPS 1st Class Mail. Contractor will develop a system for tracking participant payments, including a list of each gift card number and the date on which the card was mailed. i.To facilitate detailed tracking as well as allow for adjustments as the exact response rate becomes clear, the surveys will be implemented in batches of 500, with the stages for each new batch commencing on a weekly bases until all initial surveys have been mailed. Contractor shall conduct survey mailings to 2,900 potential participants in batches as follows. a.For Stage 1, Contractor shall mail the cover letter, informed consent fact sheet, survey instrument, a $15 incentive payment, a business-reply envelope, and a postcard participants can return to indicate they are not interested in being contacted again, to each participant ™s address via USPS 1st Class Mail. For Stage 2 contact, Contractor shall mail reminder postcards via USPS 1st Class Mail on week after the initial mailing to all participants who have not returned their surveys or the postcard indicating that they are not interested in being contacted again. b.For Stage 3 contact, which will occur four weeks after Stage 2 contact, a second cover letter, informed consent fact sheet, and survey business-reply envelope shall be mailed via USPS 1st Class Mail to participants who did not respond to Stage 1 and 2 contacts. For Stage 4 contact, which shall occur two weeks after the Stage 3 contact, Contractor shall mail reminder postcards via USPS 1st Class Mail to participants who have not returned their surveys or the postcard indicating that they are not interested in being contacted again. c.Contractor will seek PI ™s approval prior to initiating Stage 5 contact. For Stage 5 contact, Contractor shall mail a final cover letter, informed consent fact sheet, survey, and business reply envelope via USPS Priority Mail to participants who have not responded to previous contacts. This mailing shall occur two weeks after Stage 4 mailing. j.Contractor will need to have access to a search database (e.g. Lexus Nexis) in order to procure the most current addresses for potential participants. In addition, the Contractor will follow-up by telephone with potential participants to ensure address validity as needed. It is estimated that approximately 30% of the sample will require this follow-up. k.Contract shall end at the completion of the final deliverable. At the completion of the data collection phase, a final dataset shall be prepared and delivered to the VA in the SPSS software package. (vii) Contract shall end at the completion of the final deliverable. The target date for the completion date is July 31, 2011. (viii) 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - commercial Items, apply to this solicitation with the following addenda, VAAR 852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities; VAAR 852.270-1 Representatives of Contracting Officers; VAAR 852.273-75 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources; VAAR 852.270-1, Sub- Part 13.5 Test Items - This procurement is being conducted under the Sub-Part 13.5 test program where simplified acquisition procedures apply and the conduct of the procurement will be in accordance with Parts 12, 13, or 15 of the FAR or some combination thereof. (ix) 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items: FAR provision 52.212-2 applies to this solicitation. Offerors should provide a narrative that addresses the points of the Statement of Work. Specifically, relevant past performance experience with projects of similar or larger scope, experience with a similar demographic of survey respondents, a data security protocol as addressed in (d.), and ability to meet the deliverables in the outlined timeframe. Pricing should include $43,500 for participant payments Technical and Past Performance when combined, are equally as important as price (x) 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items- Offeror's are to include a COMPLETED COPY OF PROVISION 52.212-3 WITH THE FAXED AND WRITEN QUOTE, a copy of the provision may be attained from http://www.arnet.gov/far; (xi) 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items: apply to this solicitation with the following addenda; VAAR 852.203-70 Commercial Advertising, VAAR 852.237-76 Electronic Invoice Submission, 852.273-75 Security Requirements for Unclassified information Technology Resources. (xii) 52.212-5 Contracts Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items; The following FAR clauses identified at paragraph b of FAR 52.212.5 are considered checked and are applicable to this acquisition: 52.219-4, 52.219-8,52.219-28, 52.219-3, 52.222-19, 52.222.21, 52.222-26,52.222.35, 52.222-36,52.222-37, 52.222-39, 52.225-1, 52.232-34, 52.222-41, 52.222-44 (xiii) A Business Associate Agreement may be required at the time of contract award. (xiv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is not Applicable to this acquisition (xv) RESPONSES ARE DUE Tuesday, November 9, 2010, by 12:00 p.m. eastern standard time (est). Electronic offers will be accepted; submit quotation to “ Craig Toland, VA Boston Contracting and Purchasing Office, 940 Belmont Street, Brockton, Ma 02301, FAX 774-826-3347, or e-mail craig.toland@va.gov (xvi) Contact information Contracting Office Address: Department of Veterans Affairs VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, Ma 02301 Place of Performance: VA Boston Healthcare System Primary Point of Contact: Craig Toland Contracting Specialist, Craig.toland@VA.Govl Phone: 774-826-3192 Fax: 774-826-3347
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/BoVAMC/VAMCCO80220/VA24111RQ0059/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: VAMC Jamaica Plain;150 S. Huntington Ave;Boston, MA 02130

Zip Code: 02130
 

Record

SN02320029-W 20101103/101101233933-fefabf86d28ffe6345bd507c3c0d038e (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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