Research and Evaluation Services
SOURCES SOUGHT - Research and Evaluation Services
The U.S. Department of State, Office of Acquisition Management (AQM), is issuing this Sources Sought Synopsis, as a means of conducting market research to identify SMALL BUSINESSES having an interest in and the resources to support a requirement for Department of State, Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R), Research and Evaluation Unit (R/PPR/REU).
The results of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement and assist DoS in developing and further defining procurement, acquisition, and development strategies. This market research will identify all potential sources, including small business sources (including 8(a) business development participants, veteran-owned small businesses, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), HUB Zone small business concerns, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small business concerns and economically disadvantaged women-owned small business concerns). The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code assigned to this procurement is 541910 (Marketing research and public opinion polling). Interested firms must demonstrate in their qualifications statement that they are qualified to perform the work outlined in the "DRAFT" statement of work under this NAICS code.
The anticipated acquisition strategy is a single award BPA containing a combination of Fixed-Price, Cost-Reimbursement, Time-and-Materials (T&M), and Labor-Hour (LH) CLINs which may be performance based, where possible.
This is not a solicitation announcement. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals and does not bind the U.S. Government (USG) to any agreement, written or implied. Submission of any information to this market survey is purely voluntary. The USG assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by respondents. Feedback and/or evaluation information will not be provided to any firm regarding their individual capability statements in response to the Sources Sought Notice.
The "DRAFT" statement of work attached to this Sources Sought Notice outlines the specific level of support required. Contractors should review the attached draft and submit capability statements reflecting their companies' capabilities to provide the effort described. Note that the statement of work is a "DRAFT" and may change when the solicitation is issued; however, the core requirements will not change. Questions, recommendations, and comments are highly encouraged/welcomed.
If your company has the capacity to perform the services outlined in this notice, please provide the following information:
(1) Organization name, address, email address, web site address, telephone number, point of contact, size of business, qualified small business category and certification, DUNS Number, Cage Code, SAM information.
(2) A detailed capability statement reflecting the firm's ability to perform the services requested in this notice; and relevant experience (what you did) past performance history (how you did it/how you performed) documenting ability to perform similar requirements. In addition, your capability statement and relevant past performance history should identify appropriate levels and types of expertise in a manner that demonstrates understanding of the requirements, to include the types of personnel that would be utilized in executing the requirements.
(3) A listing of any federal government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACS) or Federal Supply Schedule contracts your firm currently possesses, including their periods of performance.
(4) Indicate whether or not any portion of work will be done by subcontractors.
The deadline for submitting capability statements in response to the Sources Sought Notice is 2PM(EDT) March 23, 2018. Responses are limited to 10 pages (excluding cover page and table of contents), font size 12, and shall be submitted to Amanda Rajah, Contracting Officer, via email at RajahAM@state.gov and shall have the words "Research and Evaluation Services SS Response" in the "subject" line. Sales brochures, videos and other marketing information materials will not be accepted. Telephone inquiries will NOT be accepted or acknowledged.
Questions regarding this Notice must be submitted no later than 5PM on March 15, 2018.
It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor both FedBizOpps.gov and eBuy.gov for any information that may pertain to this Sources Sought Notice or a future solicitation.
Statement of Work (DRAFT)
Scope
The Department of State (DoS), Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R), Research and Evaluation Unit (R/PPR/REU) conducts 1) audience research to support DoS public diplomacy (PD) goals and 2) program evaluations of DOS's PD activities. In order to accomplish this work, R/PPR/REU requires Research Projects.
Requirements
DoS requires the following projects: Survey Research, Focus Groups, Proprietary Research, and Miscellaneous Research.
1) Survey Research Projects: Propose a sample size; select a sample of respondents; translate a questionnaire of research questions; ask sample of respondents a questionnaire of research questions; tally responses; if necessary, adjust the tallied numbers through standard statistical methods so sample responses represent responses for the universe of potential respondents; analyze tallied data
2) Focus Group Projects: Propose a sample size; select a sample of respondents; arrange interview locations; translate a protocol of open-ended questions; interview respondents in an interview session for approximately 1-3 hours by asking respondents a protocol of open-ended questions and encouraging respondents to give answers and to discuss and debate among each other the answers they give; generate and analyze transcripts
3) Proprietary Research Projects: Acquire research completed independently by private research companies; may include polling, business intelligence, risk analysis, etc.
4) Miscellaneous Research Projects: Products and services not covered above may include consulting services; trainings; provision of proprietary software/technology; design, logistical support, and/or independent execution of research; etc.
Place of Performance
Research projects may be conducted both domestically and internationally including in high risk environments among a) foreign or American populations and b) English or non-English speakers.
Security Requirements
No facility clearance is required for this work.
Amanda M. Rajah, Email RajahAM@state.gov - Terence G. Lord, Email lordtg@state.gov
