PRESOL | B | Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project - SF18 with clauses

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 09, 2011 FBO #3576
SOLICITATION NOTICE

B -- Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project - SF18 with clauses

Notice Date: 9/7/2011
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
NAICS: 541990 — All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Contracting Office: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Lab, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands, New Jersey, 07732, United States
ZIP Code: 07732
Solicitation Number: WAD-5872
Archive Date: 9/24/2011
Point of Contact: WILLIAM BELL, Phone: 206 526-4425
E-Mail Address: Bill.Bell@noaa.gov
(Bill.Bell@noaa.gov)
Small Business Set-Aside: Total Small Business
Description: SF18 with clauses COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION AB133011RQ5872 Provide services for assisting in the operation of an Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project per the attached statement of work. (I) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice and in accordance with the simplified acquisition procedures authorized in FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (II) This solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). Submit written quotes on RFQ Number WRD-5872/WSB. (III) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-53. (IV) The solicitation is being issued as a Total Small Business Set-Aside. The associated NAICS code is 541990. The small business size standard is $7 million. (V) This combined solicitation/synopsis is for purchase of the following commercial item(s)/services: CLIN 0001: Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project (VI) Description of requirements is as follows: Statement of Work AB133011RQ5872 Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project Administration of Stated Preference Survey Northwest Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service Introduction The Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project (PSRSHP) will provide critical economic data related to recreational shellfish harvesting. Although a variety of factors can be measured in economic studies, the purpose of the PSRSHP is to identify the behavior of individual shellfish harvesters in response to the opening and closing of individual shellfish beaches, and how these actions affect the value of shellfish harvesting. More specifically, the PSRSHP collects data needed to: • Assess the economic value of access to Puget Sound beaches for recreational shellfish harvesting through statistical estimation of models. • Assess the change in these values with possible changes in management policies that affect the status of particular shellfish harvesting areas • Gather socioeconomic data from recreational shellfish harvesting participants. This Statement of Work specifies the tasks needed to undertake a stated preference survey to collect data to support the PSRSHP. Proposal Preparation The offeror's proposal should consist of a technical proposal and a cost proposal. The technical proposal should include relevant information regarding the capability of your company to perform the tasks listed below, including • personnel skills, experience, and descriptions of the offeror's qualifications; • previous experience in conducting surveys of the type described in this Statement of Work; and • any additional pertinent information. The offeror shall submit a cost proposal specifying payment at the various task or milestones listed this Statement of Work with the amount of pay. All payments shall be approved by the customer before payment can be made. For the purpose of determining the successful vendor, evaluations will be conducted according to the lowest price provided after technical acceptance has been established. Task 1. Kickoff Teleconference Duration: 2 hours The contractor staff will participate in a two hour teleconference held immediately following the contract award. Topics covered during the call will include a review of project tasks and technical issues, expectations concerning the content and time line for preparation and reporting of data deliverables, and other topics of interest to the NMFS. Task 2. Tracking System Development and Maintenance Duration: Continuous during survey administration The PSRSHP stated preference questions will consist of 10 to 25 blocks of four to six different choice questions. The contractor will be responsible for randomly assigning blocks of questions to respondents and tracking the survey block assigned to each respondent. In addition, based on survey pretesting, there may be up to three different versions of the rest of the survey questions that vary by region. Therefore, approximately 12 pages of the survey will have one to three versions, and the remaining 4 pages will have 10 to 25 versions. The contractor will develop a coding and tracking system that will link the version of the survey to the attribute levels so it can track which block version was administered to each respondent. When multiple mailings are necessary, the contractor will ensure that the respondent receives the same version of the survey. This system will also be used to indicate the version of blocks that the respondent received as well as to identify the individuals who have returned surveys. The minimum components of the tracking system include: • Respondent name and mailing address • Date of telephone contact • Date of initial mailing • Date of postcard mailing • Date of second mailing (if applicable) • Date of final mailing (if applicable) • Disposition of record (completed, returned undelivered) • Date disposition recorded • Survey Instrument Identification Code (SIIC) corresponding to the block of questions appearing on the respondent's questionnaire and number of survey mailing (first, second, or third) • Duplicate code (for respondents in the database more than once) • Number of survey mailing the respondent was sent • Survey mailing that the respondent responded to (first, second, or third) The respondent record within the tracking system will be coded with a master identification number (MID) along with the appropriate survey instrument identification code (SIIC). The combination of the MID and SIIC will comprise a unique identifier for each PSRSHP record. In addition, the cover letter, outgoing envelope, and a label adhered to the survey will also be coded with the same MID/SIIC. When the initial mailing occurs, a quality control step will be implemented to ensure that the MID/SIIC printed on the letter matches the survey, envelope label, and survey label. Finally, each outgoing envelope will be compared with a list from the tracking system of all respondents by MID/SIIC. The contractor's tracking system will be flexible with regard to update frequency. At a minimum, other information contained in the system will be updated prior to each mailing. These steps will ensure that the tracking system contains the most current information at the time of each mailing. The second and third survey mailings (sent if the respondent has not returned a completed survey to the contractor within three weeks and six weeks, respectively, of the initial mailing) will include the same version of the questionnaire as the initial survey mailing. To ensure each respondent receives the correct version of the survey, the quality control steps described previously for the initial mailing will be implemented at the time of the second and third survey mailings. Task 3. Mail and Telephone Pretest Duration: up to 3 months The contractor will conduct a formal pretest of the survey using all of the protocols that will be used in the final survey. The pretest will consist of 200 completed mail surveys. The purpose of the pretest is to determine whether the survey instrument provides NMFS with the data it needs, as well as to test survey procedures and protocol. The contractor will prepare a report on the pretest's outcome and a dataset of pretest results. The contractor will also provide NMFS with the original returned mail surveys. The contractor understands that information gathered from the pretest will be used to suggest any final changes to the survey procedures or limited changes to the questionnaire. After the pretest is completed, the contractor will review the survey instrument and provide feedback. Task 4. Full Survey Implementation Duration: up to 12 months The contractor will mail the surveys to a random sample of approximately 3,700 holders of a recent shellfish harvesting license. The contractor will work with NMFS to adjust the sample sizes for the telephone pre-survey and the mail survey in order to receive the largest expected number of responses with the existing budget. The NMFS will determine the number of mailings and provide the necessary sample of license files (as agreed to with the contractor as stated above) to the contractor in electronic format at least 3 weeks prior to the start of the telephone dialing. The PSRSHP will follow a modified Dillman Method protocol, which will consist of a telephone pre-survey contact, and up to five mail contacts. The PSRSHP mail survey will consist of a 16-page booklet and a cover letter. The survey will contain 4-6 stated preference questions. Respondents will be randomly assigned one of 10-25 different blocks of stated preference questions. The block assigned to each respondent will be tracked through the MID/SIIC described previously. The mail survey will consist of approximately 70 additional questions (this number includes question subparts). As stated above, there may be up to three different versions of the remaining pages of the survey instrument that vary by region. Throughout survey development, the contractor will provide input on issues such as envelope size, survey size and layout, cover letter language, as well as designs that will increase response rates. In addition, prior to printing the mail surveys, the contractor will provide one final review of the survey instrument. The procedures for each subtask of Task 4 are described below. Task 4.A. Initial Telephone Contact Duration: 2 weeks. Upon receipt of the sample, the contractor will submit the entire sample to a national reverse directory search to verify telephone numbers, and to fill in any missing or incorrect telephone and address information. The contractor may expect that 80% of the sampled records provided by NMFS will contain a telephone number. It is further anticipated that telephone numbers for an additional 5-10% of the records will be obtained via the reverse directory search. The contractor will submit all records provided by the NMFS to a phone number verification service (e.g., Experian) to confirm existing telephone numbers and addresses, and to locate new contact information where it is missing. After the contact information review and search, all sampled records with a valid telephone number will be loaded into the contractor's computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system. The contractor's trained CATI interviewers will administer a pre-survey of five to ten questions to each respondent contacted; the contractor will work with the NMFS to develop this telephone survey. Each record will be contacted a minimum of eight times, with attempts rotated through day, evening, and weekend shifts. The contractor will track the ultimate disposition of each sampled record. The results of the telephone survey will be provided to the NMFS in the form of a dataset, and the dataset will contain variables that allow these records to be linked to the mail survey data. All respondents who have harvested shellfish within the last 12 months will be eligible for the PSRSHP mail survey (respondents will not be asked if they wish to participate in the mail survey). It is expected that 20 to 30% of the sample will have harvested shellfish during the previous 12 months. In addition to the respondents eligible for the PSRSHP mail survey (as determined through the telephone pre-survey), all sampled records that were not contacted during the telephone pre-survey will be included in the mail survey sample. The following table provides the baseline assumptions we used to determine the expected sample sizes for each set of contacts: Baseline Assumptions for determining expected sample size Quantity Assumption Notes 7500 initial sample size 7500 total sample sent for address/phone correction or match 85% 80% sample has phone numbers, 5% additional through match 6375 phone screening sample size 23% eligible sample (percent shellfisher within last 12 mo) 25% refusals 30% wrong numbers, maximum attempts, etc 660 phone screen recruitment 15% no phone number for initial sample 1125 30% attempted phone screen and no contact 1913 3697 initial mail sample 50% expected percent of completed mail surveys 1849 completed mail surveys; number data entered Task 4.B. Pre-notice Letter Expected Start Date: Within two weeks of completion of telephone pre-survey Duration: 1 day Records who meet either of the following two criteria will be considered eligible for the PSRSHP mail survey: 1) All shellfish harvesters determined to be eligible during the telephone pre-survey 2) All holders of licenses that allow shellfish harvest not reached during the telephone pre-survey All eligible records will be randomly assigned an MID/SIIC identification code and will be loaded into the tracking system as described in Task 2: Tracking System Development and Maintenance. All eligible records will be mailed a pre-notice letter, developed by the contractor and the NMFS. The pre-notice letter will be personalized and will contain the unique MID/SIIC code. The contractor assumes that letterhead for the pre-notice letter will be provided by NMFS. The signature on pre-notice letter will be printed with contrasting ink, and the letter will be dated with the mail out date. Task 4.C. Initial Survey Mailing Duration: 1 day The contractor will prepare the first survey packet for each record eligible for the PSRSHP mail survey. The survey packet will consist of a personalized cover letter (provided by the NWFSC in MS Word or PDF form), a 16-page survey booklet, and a business reply envelope. The cover letter will be personalized with the respondent's name and mailing address and will be dated with the mail out date. In addition, each letter will be printed with a NMFS toll-free contact number, in case respondents have questions or comments. The survey booklet will be printed on four standard 11"x 17" sheets of paper, which will be folded and stapled along the spine to create 16 11"x 8.5" pages. The outgoing envelope will be printed with "Address Correction Requested" and will be stamped with a first-class stamp. The return envelope will consist of a business-reply envelope, rather than a stamped envelope. The initial mailing will consist of the following steps: 1. Printing address labels, personalized cover letters, and survey labels in batches by survey code. Each component will include the MID and SIIC. 2. Placing the survey label on the appropriate printed version of the survey. 3. Folding the cover letter. 4. Quality control step to ensure the survey matches the survey code. 5. Placing cover letter, survey, and postage-paid return envelope in outgoing envelope so that all three enclosures will come out of the envelope together. 6. Placing address label and first-class stamp on the outgoing envelope. 7. Final quality control step: Ensure MID and SIIC on cover letter, survey label, and envelope are identical. 8. The tracking system will be updated with the date of the initial mailing Surveys that are returned with forwarding or address correction information will be remailed, and the contact information for that record will be updated. It is expected that the number of surveys remailed will be about 2%-4% of the sample. The contractor will examine early returns from the first mailing for issues that can be addressed in the second or third mailings. Task 4.D. Postcard Mailing Duration: 1 day Seven days after the initial mailing date, the contractor will send a postcard reminder to each participating respondent, whether or not the respondent has returned a completed survey. The postcard will reinforce the importance of the survey; it will thank respondents who have already responded and remind those who did not respond. The standard postcard postage of 29¢ will be used. Postcards already containing the postage will be purchased from the USPS and will be printed with the reminder text by an external source. Address labels will be printed for these respondents and placed on the postcards. The tracking system will be updated with the date of the postcard mailing. Task 4.E. Second Survey Mailing Duration: 1 day One week from the postcard mailing, a report will be prepared which lists all respondents scheduled to receive the second survey mailing. The list will include respondents who meet the following three criteria: 1. Respondent was mailed the first survey three weeks before the second mail date 2. Respondent has not returned a completed survey 3. Respondent's first mailing was not returned as undeliverable The tracking system will be updated with the date of the second survey mailing. As with the initial survey mailing, the second packet will be sent via first class mail. The steps involved in this mailing will be the same as the initial survey mailing. However, the cover letter for the second mailing will be different from the initial cover letter. Task 4.F. Third Survey Mailing Duration: 1 day Two weeks from the second mailing, a report will be prepared that lists all respondents scheduled to receive the third survey mailing. The list will include respondents who meet the following three criteria: 1. Respondent was mailed a second survey packet 2. Respondent has not returned a completed survey 3. Respondent's first or second mailing was not returned as undeliverable The tracking system will be updated with the date of the third survey mailing. Similar to the initial survey mailing, the third packet will be sent via first class mail. The steps involved in this mailing will be the same as the initial and second survey mailings. However, the cover letter for the third mailing will be different from the initial and second survey cover letters. Task 5. Tracking Duplicate Respondents Duration: not applicable It is possible that a respondent will be included in the mail survey more than once, especially if the respondent is an avid shellfish harvester. The contractor will track these duplicate respondents with a "duplicate" variable, comparing a variety of fields to determine duplicate entries. First, the contractor will match last name/first name combination for each record against all other records in order to identify apparent duplicate records. The state of residence, city of residence, and mailing addresses for apparent duplicate records will then be analyzed. Definite duplicates, in which all of the information is exactly the same, will be coded with a "1"; likely duplicates, in which not all the information is an exact match (e.g., the street or last name is spelled slightly differently in the database entries) will be coded with a "2"; and possible duplicates, in which a few entries are imperfect matches (e.g., the first name varies somewhat - from Theodore to Teddy - within the database, and the street address is spelled differently) will be coded with a "3". Task 6. Verification of Sample Addresses and Telephone Numbers Expected Start Date: immediately after sample is received from NMFS Duration: two weeks As described in Task 4A: Initial Telephone Contact, the contractor will use a national database of names, addresses, and telephone numbers to verify and, as needed, correct the address and telephone numbers in the sample database. As described in Task 4C: Initial Survey Mailing, The contractor will remail any surveys that are returned to the contractor with a corrected address. Task 7. Data Entry Expected Start Date: 1 week from first mailing date, weekly thereafter Duration: 1 day per week For quality control purposes, the contractor will use a data verification system in which each survey is recorded twice. Discrepancies between the first and second entry will be flagged and require immediate validation by the data entry clerk before moving to the next question. The data entry clerk will review the two entries compared to the survey form and will re-enter the correct response. This provides for 100% validation of every keystroke. The contractor will work with the NMFS to develop categories to facilitate data entry of comments provided on the final page of the questionnaire. Task 8. Data Processing, Reporting, and Deliverables PSRSHP Mail Surveys Expected Schedule: Monthly Duration: not applicable Because the performance of the contract tasks is contingent on getting approval from OMB for the administration of the survey, and because the timing of this approval is uncertain, the deliverable schedule is approximate. The performance period will run from October 1, 2011, through March 31, 2014. On a monthly basis, the contractor will provide a report to the NMFS that will include: • Review of methodology • Disposition of all records • Recommendations to improve the implementation of the survey The contractor will deliver a dataset to the NMFS no later than 30 days after each completed set of mailings. Prior to providing deliverables to the NMFS, all personal data such as name, street address, and phone number will be deleted from the data. The respondent's city, state, and zip code of residence will be retained in the data deliverable. The data will be accompanied by documentation of the dataset which will include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following: • Variable name • Position • Description • Length • Alpha-numeric description In addition, the contractor will deliver the completed questionnaires to the NMFS project director, sorted by MID. Within eight weeks of the completion of the third mailing, the contractor will provide an interim final report to the NMFS electronically. The interim final report will contain the following elements: • Discussion of the survey procedures • A tally of attempted number of mail surveys and telephone calls: total attempts and attempts by survey version • An analysis of response rates by key variables, such as survey version and variables collected on the telephone pre-survey. • Response rate to each mailing • Response rate to telephone calls • Other analysis or descriptive statistics that will help NMFS to easily identify problems with the data or that will assist in identifying the success of the survey Within 16 weeks of the final mailing, the contractor will update the interim final report with any additional survey returns and deliver an electronic and hard copy of the document. (VII) Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance Date of award to March 31, 2014. Northwest Fisheries Science Center CB Division 2725 Montlake Blvd. E. Seattle, WA 98112 (VIII) FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items (2005-53), applies to this acquisition. In addition to written price quotes, offers are instructed to provide answers to the Factors and answer the questions in the FAR 52.212-3 OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (MAY 2011) clauses in the SF-18 file. (IX) FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items 2005-53 applies to this acquisition. Paragraph (a) is hereby completed as follows: Selection Criteria will be based on Lowest Price Technically Acceptable. (X) FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items 2005-53, applies to this acquisition. Paragraph (a) is hereby completed as follows: Lowest Price Technically Acceptable. Offers will be evaluated based on price and the factors set forth in Section IX paragraph (a), and award will be made to the firm offering the lowest price technically acceptable to the Government. (XI) The offeror must submit a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items (Oct 2010) with its quote. The offeror shall complete the annual representations and certifications electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov. (XII) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items 2005-53, applies to this acquisition. (XIII) The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items (2005-53) applies to this acquisition. The following clauses under subparagraph (b) apply: 1. 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998) 4 2. 52.204-7 CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION (APR 2008) 4 3. 1352.209-70 POTENTIAL ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (APR 2010) 5 4. 1352.209-73 COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWS (APR 2010) 6 5. 1352.209-74 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (APR 2010) 6 6. 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUN 2010) 7 7. 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (AUG 2011) 11 8. 1352.246-70 PLACE OF ACCEPTANCE (APR 2010) 16 The following clauses under subparagraph (c) apply: same as above. (XIV) The following clauses are also applicable to this acquisition: 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated By Reference (Feb 1998), This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html (End of Clause) (XV) The Government intends to award a firm-fixed-price order resulting from this solicitation. (XV) Quotes are required to be received in the contracting office no later than 6 P.M. PST on September 22, 2011. All quotes must be faxed or emailed to the attention of Bill Bell. The fax number is (206) 526-6025 and email address is bill.bell@noaa.gov (XVI) Any questions regarding this solicitation should be directed to Bill Bell, 206 526-4425, and email address: bill.bell@noaa.gov. QUOTED BY:_____________________ DATE__________________________________ COMPANY NAME:_________________________ email ADDRESS:__________________ PHONE:__________________________ SMALL BUSINESS?_____________________ FAX:_____________________________ TAX ID NUMBER:_______________________ ADDRESS:_______________________ GSA CONTRACT NO.___________________ _________________________________ DUNS no._______________________________ _________________________________ CAGE CODE (CCR):_______________________ NAICS CODE 541990 SIZE STANDARD $7M FAX QUOTE BY 6PM, September 22, 2011 TO BILL BELL AT (206) 526-4425. Or email bill.bell@noaa.gov. THE WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION, REQUIRES THAT ALL CONTRACTORS DOING BUSINESS WITH THIS ACQUISITION OFFICE BE REGISTERED WITH THE CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRY (CCR) AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2003. AFTER THIS DATE, NO AWARD CAN BE MADE UNLESS THE VENDER IS REGISTERED IN CCR. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER IN CCR PLEASE ACCESS THE FOLLOWING WEB SITE: HTTP://WWW.CCR.GOV. IN ORDER TO REGISTER WITH THE CCR AND TO BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE AN AWARD FROM THIS ACQUISITION OFFICE, ALL OFFERORS MUST HAVE A DUN & BRADSTREET NUMBER. A DUN & BRADSTREET NUMBER MAY BE ACQUIRED FREE OF CHARGE BY CONTACTING DUN & BRADSTREET ON-LINE AT WWW.DNB.COM/EUPDATE OR BY PHONE AT (800) 333-0505. ALL CONTRACTORS ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ONLINE REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS AT HTTP://ORCA.BPN.GOV.
Web Link: FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/NMFSJJ/WAD-5872/listing.html)
Place of Performance: Address: Northwest Fisheries Science Center, CB Division, 2725 Montlake Blvd. E., Seattle, Washington, 98112, United States; Zip Code: 98112
Record: SN02564905-W 20110909/110907235009-852b85ea956008680d8e18e570d19fb3 (fbodaily.com)
Source: FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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B -- Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project - SF18 with clauses