U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Program Contract Service Center (3803R), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460-0001

R -- SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL NETWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT STUDIES FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM SOL PR-HQ-97-2922 DUE 091297 POC Letitia Cavalieri, Contract Specialist, cavalieri.letitia@epamail.epa.gov E-MAIL: click here to contact the contract specialist via e-mail, cavalieri.letitia@epamail.epa.gov. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a request for proposal for services for which the Government intends to award a firm fixed price purchase order using the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR Part 13. The SIC code for this purchase order is 8999. The EPA is FACNET certified. Any contractor/vendor able to meet requirement must demonstrate in writing by closing date. This notice is intended for competitive purposes. You may E-mail the contracting officer at meisner.susan@epamail.epa.gov or the contract specialist at cavalieri.letitia@epamail.epa.mail. Please include the following: Company Name; Address; Phone Number; Business Class; and E-mail Address. NO PHONE CALLS ACCEPTED. All questions must be addressed in writing and will be answered in writing. Award will be made to the firm whose offer provides the greatest value to the Government, price, quality and delivery performance considered. Award may be based on lowest overall evaluated cost. Preference will be given to smallbusiness. Two copies of all proposals, for the following statement of work, should be delivered to the following address, (fax/e-mail copies will not be accepted): US EPA; 401 M Street, SW; Mail Code 3803R; Washington, DC 20460 Attn: Letitia Cavalieri -- HAND CARRY TO: Ronald Reagan Building; 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; Bid and Proposal Room; 6th floor Room 61107. Due Date Friday, September 12, 1997 ; -- 2:30pm EST (Any proposal received after the due date will not be considered or opened.) NO OTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE. STATEMENT OF WORK: BACKGROUND: The NNEMS Program is an EPA fellowship program designed to provide undergraduate and graduate students from accredited universities with environmental research opportunities and training experience at the EPA. The Program is managed by the Environmental Education Division, and has provided almost 600 of these fellowships to date. The Program reaches approximately 100 students annually at more than 300 universities. Each year, EPA managers and scientists at both Headquarters and the regional offices, develop and sponsor new research projects based on EPA's environmental and health protection priorities. Students must compete for the available projects which are announced annually in the NNEMS Program Catalog. The projects are sufficiently narrow in scope to allow the student to complete the research by working full-time during the summer or part-time during the school year. Students selected to receive a fellowship are awarded a stipend based on their level of education and the length of the project period. TASK 1: Call for Projects (to be completed in Aug 97) -- The project officer will provide the contractor with a copy of a signed letter requesting submission of 1997-98 National Network for Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS) project descriptions. The contractor shall duplicate and distribute to EPA Assistant Administrators, Regional Laboratory Directors, and other Agency personnel as indicated on the letter. The project officer will provide the contractor with a mailing list, including all names, addresses, and mail codes. The contractor shall prepare the mailing labels, and provide all mailing envelopes and all postage. The project officer will provide the contractor with EPA letterhead to prepare the final letter. TASK 2: Program Guide, Program Summary, Brochure, and Poster Development and Production (to be completed within 30 days from receipt date) -- The project officer will provide an updated, hard copy of the previous year's NNEMS Program Guide, Poster, and Brochure to the contractor for revision. The project officer will also provide text for the Program Summary, which the contractor shall format and formalize. The contractor shall provide to the project officer drafts of the final version of all documents for approval and final camera-ready keylines for approved materials within 30 days from date of receipt from the project officer. TASK 3: Program Catalog Development and Production (Sep 97) -- The contractor will receive all completed project description forms from EPA staff and review them for potential problems or conflicts (policy guidelines will be provided by the project officer). For projects which are not acceptable as submitted, the contractor shall contact and work with the project sponsors and the project officer to resolve problems. The contractor shall prepare a draft Program Catalog for 1997-98 projects, using the previous year's catalog (to be provided by the project officer) as a model, and will submit a draft to the project officer for review. After receiving approval from the project officer, the contractor shall supply a final camera-ready copy of the catalog to the project officer for printing. TASK 4: Internet Materials Development and Support (dates to coincide w/ Tasks 2 and 3) -- The contractor shall supply electronic copies of the program guide, program summary, brochure and catalog to the project officer in HTML, PDF, or other appropriate electronic format. The contractor shall also create two NNEMS home pages -- one intended for EPA employees and the other for students and university faculty. Revisions shall be made by the contractor as necessary. All electronic materials produced by the contractor must conform to the EPA Internet guidelines in place at the time of production. All electronic materials will be delivered to the project officer, who will arrange for their distribution on EPA's Internet and Intranet servers. Electronic versions of each document shall be provided to the project officer at the same time as each document camera- ready copy; the home pages will be provided with the first of the other documents. The contractor shall also receive and respond to all e-mail inquiries about NNEMS from users of the Web pages. TASK 5 -- FY 1997-98 NNEMS Program Announcement to Institutions (Oct 97) -- The contractor shall distribute the 1997-98 NNEMS Program materials to approximately 350 -- 400 educational institutions. Each institution will receive a cover letter (prepared in final by the contractor and signed by the project officer (sample to be provided by the project officer), 4 program catalogs, 10 brochures, and 4 posters. The project officer will provide the contractor with the catalogs, posters, and brochures, as well as the names and addresses of the institutions. The contractor will generate the institution mailing labels from the list provided. The contractor shall provide the mailing envelopes and all postage. The project officer will provide EPA letterhead for preparation of the final cover letter. TASK 6 -- Reminder Mailing to Institutions (28 Nov 97) -- The contractor shall prepare in final and send a letter signed by the project officer to the institution coordinators requesting them to remind their students that the application deadline is 20 Dec 97. The contractor shall provide all mailing envelopes and all postage. The project officer will provide EPA letterhead for preparation of the final letter. TASK 7 -- Receipt and Processing of Applications (Nov 97 -- Jan 98)—The contractor shall be responsible for receiving, assembling, checking eligibility (the screening form to be used and attached to each file will be provided by the project officer), and key-entering information from NNEMS application materials. After consultation with the project officer, the contractor shall provide instructions to staff to collate, check eligibility, and key-enter applicant information into the database. The contractor shall contact the project officer to discuss any discrepancies in received applications and questionable eligibility issues. TASK 8 -- NNEMS Database (12 Jan 98) -- The contractor shall collate and assemble all application materials into a file folder for each applicant, labeled by project number and applicant name, as well as establish a computer file for each applicant. When all applicant information is entered, the contractor shall develop the following rosters and submit them to the project officer. The contractor will be provided a sample of each roster requested containing all required information: 1) Alphabetical Roster of Applicants; 2) Report of Applicants by Project Code; 3) Report of Applicants by Institution; and 4) Report of Applicant Summary Counts by Institution. TASK 9 -- Transmittal of Eligible Applicant Files (12 Jan 98) -- The contractor shall assemble all eligible applicant files and transmit the originals to the project officer, with one copy each to the applicable NNEMS Coordinators and Project Sponsors at the EPA Headquarters and Regional Offices and Laboratories, accompanied by a transmittal letter prepared in final by the contractor and signed by the project officer. All program, regional office and lab 1997-98 Project Sponsors/ NNEMS Coordinators names, addresses, and mail codes will be provided by the project officer. Mailing envelopes and postage will be provided by the contractor. The contractor shall retain one copy of all eligible applicant files until completion of this effort, and transmit all ineligible applicant files to the project officer, accompanied by a report indicating the disposition of each file. TASK 10 -- Fellowship Award Reporting (Feb -- Mar 98) -- Once students have been selected, the project officer will notify the contractor of those students who will receive an NNEMS grant. The contractor will generate a roster of final student selections. A sample of the final student roster with all required information will be provided to the contractor. TASK 11 -- Notification of Non-winners (Apr 98) -- The contractor will notify students who did not receive fellowships. The contractor shall prepare and mail the approved project officer's letter (sample to be provided by the project officer) to those students who were not awarded a fellowship. All mailing envelopes and postage will be provided by the contractor. The project officer will provide EPA letterhead for preparation of the final letter. TASK 12 -- Program Management Reports (Apr 98) -- The contractor will provide the project officer with computer reports as to the progress of the program at the conclusion of tasks #s 7 -- 10. In addition, special reports required by the project officer may not exceed 10 over the life of the contract. These special reports will be submitted to the project officer within no more than 2 working days of the date of request. The contractor shall provide the project officer with a final report containing samples of all mailings and summary applicant/ fellow information. TASK 13 -- Submission of Applicant Files (Apr 98) -- After the notification process is completed, the files for award recipients and non-winners shall be sent to the project officer. No files will be retained by the contractor. All files and all computer disks, to include the mailing label lists, will be provided to the project officer. All shipping fees will be paid by the contractor. TASK 14 -- Invoicing (Apr 98) -- The contractor shall provide the project officer with a duplicate invoice that details the number of applications processed. NOTE: If not otherwise stated, the contractor will provide all envelopes and postage for all mailings. The project officer will provide the contractor with EPA letterhead to prepare final letters. Evaluation Criteria: EPA will accept quotes from vendors with knowledge of and experience in fellowship/scholarship support services in the following areas: 1) Design, development, and distribution of program publicity materials, announcements, and application materials. Materials must be provided to EPA in camera-ready format. 2) Design and development of screening and evaluation systems. 3) Design, development, and management of program databases. 4) Ability to determine applicants' eligibility based on student transcripts, proposals, and letters of recommendation. 5) Capability to provide electronic versions of program materials for distribution via the Internet to include the design and development of Internet home pages in HTML, PDF, or other appropriate format. 6) Ability to handle mass mailings in a short timeframe. (0238)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0089 19970828\R-0015.SOL)