36C24E18B0049-000.docx

FedBizOpps Sources Sought Notice

CLASSIFICATION CODE

SUBJECT

CONTRACTING OFFICE'S

ZIP-CODE

SOLICITATION NUMBER

RESPONSE DATE (MM-DD-YYYY)

ARCHIVE

DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS

SET-ASIDE

NAICS CODE

CONTRACTING OFFICE

ADDRESS

POINT OF CONTACT

(POC Information Automatically Filled from User Profile Unless Entered)

DESCRIPTION

See Attachment

AGENCY'S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT'S EMAIL

ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

* = Required Field FedBizOpps Sources Sought Notice Rev. March 2010 A Focus group moderator services VA Puget Sound Healthcare System 15212-5319 36C24E18B0049 02-21-2018 N 541720 US Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Service Area Office (SAO) East 323 North Shore Drive, Suite 500 Pittsburgh PA 15212-5319 Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Epidemiologic Research and Info Center (ERIC) VA Puget Sound Healthcare System (S-152) 1660 S. Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108

USA

The Veterans Administration Service Area Office East (SAO-E), Research and Development (R&D) Contracting, intends to negotiate on a sole-source basis with Gnosis Research, 920 11th Ave. East, Seattle, WA 98102, for the procurement of a contractor to conduct and moderate VA research focus groups and to pilot test the focus group research strategy.

This procurement is being conducted in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2) (only 1 responsible source) because the Government believes that Gnosis, Inc., is the only contractor capable of providing this service with the following (minimum) salient qualifications/characteristics:

· PhD in social psychology and expertise in survey methodology;

· Located in the greater Seattle area to meet in-person, work directly with the Seattle VA study team and to pilot test the focus group strategy;

· Contractor must be a full-service market research organization specializing in both qualitative and quantitative research;

· Must have over 20 years’ of experience with focus group development and design; interviewing, and conducting/moderating focus groups on a wide range of topics;

· Experienced in developing, designing, and formatting moderator questions to maximize the quality of discussion by providing sample reports for evaluation by VA study staff;

· Previous experience compiling summary reports for qualitative research which is intended to inform large-scale, government survey processes, procedures, and questionnaires;

· Must have experience working with a variety of hard-to-reach population groups with varying compositions;

· Proven track record of working with Veterans in focus groups;

· Ability to provide the data in a format compatible with VA systems AND with data collected from previous focus groups;

Duties include:

· Securing conference room spaces and other arrangements for the focus group sessions and receipts for reimbursement;

· Provide the personnel, equipment, materials and supplies, forms, and systems of computer programs to assist with the planning and conducting of focus groups;

· Assist VA research staff with creating/updating a moderator guide for each of the focus groups;

· Provide a staff summary report of all focus group sessions;

· Travel (own arrangements) to the focus group locations- anywhere within the continental US (to be determined by VA staff);

Scope: Up to 4 focus groups (5-10 participants each) per year. Base year + 4 option years.

This notice of intent is not for competitive quotes. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) number is 541720, small business size standard of $20.5 million. This notice is NOT a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation document is available. However, parties may express their interest accompanied by supporting literature by email to Jeff Greis, Contracting Officer, no later than February 21, 12:01 ET. Responses should be sent to jeffrey.greis@va.gov. No telephone responses will be accepted. Information received will be for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement or proceed with a sole-source procurement. The determination to conduct a competitive procurement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the VAPHS Contracting Officer. *Include your socioeconomic status in your responses (i.e., SB, VOSB, LB, etc.).