86614619Q00003_HIRS_Body_07-09-19.pdf

TABLE OF CONTENTS HOUSING INSECURITY RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR AHS

Policy Development and Research 86614619Q00003

Table of Contents Page

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

SECTION H - SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

SECTION I - CONTRACT CLAUSES

PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

SECTION J - LIST OF ATTACHMENTS……………………………………………………………………………49

PART IV – REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

SECTION K – REPRESENTATION, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS…50

SECTION L – INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS…………………………….62

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD…………………………………………………………67

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES HOUSING INSECURITY RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR AHS

POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH 86614619Q00003

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COST PART

B.1 CONTRACT DEFINITION

This is a firm fixed priced contract under the authority of FAR Part 13.5 Program for Certain Commercial

Items for performance of the services stated in Section C, Performance Work Statement.

B.2 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

The Contractor shall provide all management, supervision, personnel, equipment, materials, supplies, facilities, and other resources necessary to perform, schedule, coordinate, deliver, and assure effective performance of all tasks as defined in Section II. The Contractor shall (1) conduct a literature review of housing insecurity research since 2015 and state-of-the-art scale development methods; (2) develop validated multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales from the HIRM and

Core AHS housing insecurity variables; (3) develop categorical housing insecurity variables (Housing

Secure: (High Housing Security, Marginal Housing Security), Housing Insecure: (Low Housing Security, Very Low Housing Security)) from the continuous housing insecurity scales; and (4) make recommendations on the smallest set of questions (from the HIRM and the Core AHS) required to indicate housing insecurity across a continuum through valid and reliable multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales, optimizing scale quality while minimizing respondent burden.

The contractor shall have demonstrated expertise in scale development, survey methodology, housing research, non-probability sampling and weighting, SAS (the statistical package available in the SSDC), and literature review development.

B.3 ORDER LINE ITEM NUMBERS AND PRICES

3.1. The amount to be paid to the Contractor for a deliverable as described in Section II of this order will be as set forth in paragraph 3.2 of this Section.

3.2. The estimated quantities to be performed during the task order is indicated in the table below. The quantities are estimates only. The Government is not obligated to order or pay for estimated quantities.

3.3. ORDER FIXED UNIT RATES AND TOTAL PRICES

BASE YEAR

CLIN Description PWS

Section

C

Estimated

Quantity

Unit Fixed

Unit

Rate

(Firm

Fixed

Price)

Extended Price

0001 HIRS Base Year 5 to 5.2 1 LOT

0001AA Generate Research

Design and

Literature Review

5.1 1 LOT NSP

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES HOUSING INSECURITY RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR AHS

POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH 86614619Q00003

0001AB Conduct Analysis and Generate

Interim Report

5.2 1 LOT NSP

TOTAL BASE YEAR

1ST OPTION YEAR

CLIN Description PWS

Section

C

Estimated

Quantity

Unit Fixed Unit

Rate

(Firm

Fixed

Price)

Extended Price

0002 HIRS Option 1 5 1 LOT $

0002AA Generate Final

Interim Report

5.2 1 LOT NSP

0002AB Conduct Analysis and Generate Draft

Final Report

5.3 1 LOT NSP

0002AC Generate

Publication-Ready

Report

5.4 3 LOT NSP

OPTION 1 PERIOD

TOTAL: BASE AND OPTION 1 PERIOD

SECTION C – PERFORMANCE WORK Housing Insecurity Research Support for American Housing Survey

Policy Development and Research 86614619Q00003

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT

Housing Insecurity Research Support for the American Housing Survey

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research

(PD&R) is seeking contract services of scale design experts to analyze 2019 American Housing Survey (AHS)

Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) and Core AHS data using psychometric methods to develop multidimensional and unidimensional Housing Insecurity Scales and to recommend a smaller set of questions to be asked in future iterations of the Housing Insecurity Module.

1 General Information

1.1 Introduction

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research

(PD&R) is seeking a contactor to: (1) conduct a literature review of housing insecurity research since 2015 and state-of-the-art scale development methods; (2) develop validated multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales from the HIRM and Core AHS housing insecurity variables; (3) develop categorical housing insecurity variables (Housing Secure: ( High Housing Security, Marginal Housing Security) and Housing Insecure:

(Low Housing Security, Very Low Housing Security)) from the continuous housing insecurity scales; and (4) make recommendations on the smallest set of questions (from the HIRM and the Core AHS) required to indicate housing insecurity across a continuum through valid and reliable multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales, optimizing scale quality while minimizing respondent burden.

1.2 Background

Housing Insecurity is a concept used by researchers, policymakers, program leaders, and practitioners, but has not been measured in one consistent way through the research literature. The lack of a comprehensive consensus measure makes it impossible to track prevalence of housing insecurity from year to year and to examine the correlation of housing insecurity with health, education, employment, and criminal justice outcomes. There is no comprehensive transferable instrument for measuring housing insecurity currently in national surveys. For this reason, the Office of Policy Development & Research at the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development identified the development of a housing insecurity module as a research priority in their "HUD Research Roadmap:

2017 Update https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdf/ResearchRoadmap-2017Update.pdf.

The goal of developing the housing insecurity module is to construct a standardized set of questions to measure the continuum of housing insecurity in the model of the transferable U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module developed by the USDA (For a discussion of the early development of the U.S. Household Food Security Index, see: https://www.fns.usda.gov/household-food-security-united-states-1995-summary-report-food-security-measurement-project.

For information on the U.S. Household Food Security Index generally, see: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx

Housing Insecurity is defined as a significant lapse for a given household of one or more elements of secure housing. These elements include affordability, stable occupancy, and whether the housing is decent and safe.

“Affordability” implies that shelter costs are manageable over the long term without severely burdening or compromising other consumption that normally is essential for health and well-being. "Stable occupancy” implies that the household does not face substantial risk of involuntary displacement for economic or non-economic reasons. “Decent and safe” implies that a unit has physical attributes that satisfy functional needs for well-being related to health, security, and support for the activities of daily living. Such attributes include appropriate facilities for excluding external threats, providing climate control, storing and preparing food, maintaining physical and https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdf/ResearchRoadmap-2017Update.pdf https://www.fns.usda.gov/household-food-security-united-states-1995-summary-report-food-security-measurement-project https://www.fns.usda.gov/household-food-security-united-states-1995-summary-report-food-security-measurement-project https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx

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Policy Development and Research 86614619Q00003 mental hygiene, and developing human potential. Not included are aspects of the neighborhood or environment that one encounters beyond the confines of the structure or property.

The Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) follow-on will be administered only to households that recently responded to the Core AHS and that are at less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, based on household income and the number of people in the home. The HIRM sample will draw upon the 118,600 sample housing units expected for the 2019 AHS regular production sample. The target sample size for the HIRM is 4,000 housing units and will include both rented and owned units.

The HIRM was developed to tap dimensions of the housing insecurity operational definitions that could potentially be used in a housing insecurity index. The HIRM is divided into four sections:

The Screener section determines whether at least one household member from the Core AHS interview is in the unit, updates the household roster and collects information required for skip patterns and question fills throughout the instrument, including age and move-in date for new residents, tenure of previous home, tenure of current home, and basic mortgage info. In addition, the Screener section includes two questions that are included for scale validation. A generalized stress question and a general health question.

The Stable Occupancy section covers residential instability (number of moves), forced moves from prior home, and risk of forced moves from the current home. Both sets of questions on forced moves are tailored to the tenure of the prior residence and that of the current residence, asking about eviction, foreclosure, and other types of forced moved where appropriate. Questions are included on difficulties encountered during the housing search process, people temporarily staying in the home due to financial difficulties, and people in the household who have experienced homelessness in the past 12 months.

The Decent and Safe section is shorter than the other sections, as many of housing quality items are collected in the

AHS Core. Responses in the Core AHS will be linked to responses in the Follow-On. Decent and Safe questions include questions on mildew, mold, and musty smells, landlord maintenance, perception of crowding, home safety, and neighborhood safety. Questions for calculating the extent of crowding are collected in the Core AHS.

The Affordability section collects information on difficulties encountered in making rent, mortgage, and utility payments, the frequency of these problems, and the respondents estimate of rent burden. The extensive housing cost and household income questions in the Core AHS are not replicated in the Follow-On, but the Core responses will be available for analysis alongside the Follow-On responses, as will other measures of housing affordability from the Core (i.e., residual income and shelter poverty measures). The Affordability section includes questions on worry over making rent or mortgage payments and other types of housing-related stress (as distinguished from the generalized stress asked in the screener section). Related to the concept of shelter poverty, the section asks about difficulties households have in paying for household non-shelter expenses (i.e., food, child care, medical bills, prescriptions, transportation, debts).

The part of the AHS sample that will be asked if they want to opt-in to the Follow-On is the part which received the

Food Security Module, which shall be used for scale validation. Finally, the Affordability section asks about housing cost assistance received from charities, family, and friends. Answers from the Core AHS will indicate the presence of housing subsidies from Federal, State, and local entities.

The link between the HIRM and the Core AHS makes it possible to evaluate new measures of housing insecurity against established measures of housing affordability and housing quality used to estimate worst case housing needs https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Worst-Case-Housing-Needs.pdf and related special topics, such as food security, to validate proposed housing insecurity scales.

The current set of Housing Insecurity questions in the HIRM and the Core AHS is too large to be a recurring

Housing Insecurity Module in the AHS and a transferable module that can be easily implemented in other Federal

Surveys. To reduce the number of questions in future iterations of the Housing Insecurity Module, the contractor https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Worst-Case-Housing-Needs.pdf

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Policy Development and Research 86614619Q00003 shall use data reduction techniques, including, but not limited to, exploratory factor analysis and principal components analysis to identify a smaller set of questions that can be used in a validated index of housing insecurity.

1.3 Constraints

The contractor shall obtain Census Special Sworn Status for all contractor personnel assigned to analyze internal use AHS data as part of the project. All such personnel shall obtain HUD Contractor IDs, so that they may analyze the data in the HUD Survey Sponsor Data Center (SSDC). Census Special Sworn Status and HUD Contractor IDs shall be obtained as soon as possible after award, as they are necessary for any data analysis to begin.

The services identified in this PWS will adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards, and conventions identified by HUD as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints include the following:

a. Layout document and deliver print versions camera-ready package and the web-ready electronic file as prepared for web posting. Include one hard copy printout of the document within the print package.

b. All materials prepared for web posting adhere to the Federal Government’s 508 Compliance guidelines.

c. Electronic submissions use HUDs standard versions of application programs and formats under Windows 2010.

The standard applications used by HUD include MS Office Suite 2010.

d. Documents prepared for printing are in Adobe InDesign format or be InDesign compatible.

e. Code or syntax files shall be prepared in SAS format and shall be fully documented. Sufficient information for replication of the analyses for all reports must be included.

f. Documents and electronic files conform to the GPO style guide. The GPO guide can be found at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016

g. Documents and electronic files conform to PD&R style guide. The PD&R style guide can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/About/style-guide-for-reports.pdf

h. Documents and electronic files conform to Chicago Manual of Style.

i. Documents and electronic files are legible and accurate. Errors are identified and corrected.

j. Word files include the Track Changes saved and named the “QA edit file (i.e. quality assurance editing file).

k. The Contractor shall make all required changes in support of clarity and presentation within five business days after receipt of the CORs comments.

l. The final product reflects the revisions based on the CORs comments.

1.4 Description of Services

PD&R is procuring a contractor for the following services: (1) conduct a literature review of housing insecurity research since 2015 and state-of-the-art scale development methods; (2) develop validated multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales from the HIRM and Core AHS housing insecurity variables; (3) develop categorical housing insecurity variables (Housing Secure: (High Housing Security, Marginal Housing Security), Housing Insecure: (Low Housing Security, Very Low Housing Security)) from the continuous housing insecurity scales; and (4) make recommendations on the smallest set of questions (from the HIRM and the Core AHS) required to indicate housing insecurity across a continuum through valid and reliable multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales, optimizing scale quality while minimizing respondent burden.

1.5 Non-Personal Services

The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016 https://www.huduser.gov/portal/About/style-guide-for-reports.pdf

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Policy Development and Research 86614619Q00003 employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services.

If the Contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the

Contractor's responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer (CO) immediately. These services shall not be used to perform work of a policy, decision making, or management nature, i.e. inherently Government functions. All decisions relative to programs supported by the Contactor shall be the sole responsibility of the Government.

1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance shall be for one base period of 12 months and one 12-month option period.

1.7 Place of Performance

The services to be performed under this contract shall be performed at the HUD Survey Sponsor Data Center

(SSDC) and the contractor’s facility. All data analyses involving internal-use 2019 AHS Core and HIRM data shall be performed at the HUD SSDC (451 7th Street SW, Room 8222, Washington, DC 20410). The literature review task and analyses of results and output that has been approved for public release by the Census Disclosure Review

Board may be performed at the contractor’s facility.

1.8 Hours of Operation

All data analyses involving internal-use 2019 AHS Core and HIRM data shall be performed at the HUD SSDC

(451 7th Street SW, Room 8222, Washington, DC 20410) because the data is only available through the HUD

SSDC. The Contractor is responsible for providing services onsite between the hours of 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday thru Friday except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closing, or similar Government directed facility closings. Weekly hours shall not exceed a forty (40) hour work week and a typical work day will be 8 hours each day Monday through Friday.

The Government reserves the right to change hours of operation or restrict contractor access. Work outside of these daily hours is prohibited without Contracting Officer approval. Government agencies will not be available during scheduled holidays, inclement weather, weekends, and after duty hours. However, the literature review task and analyses of results and output that has been approved for public release by the Census Disclosure Review Board may be performed at the contractor’s facility.

The Contractor shall at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the contract when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

1.9 Special Qualifications

The Contractor shall obtain Census Special Sworn Status for all contractor personnel assigned to analyze internal use AHS data as part of the project. All such personnel shall obtain HUD Contractor IDs, so that they may analyze the data in the HUD Survey Sponsor Data Center (SSDC). Census Special Sworn Status and HUD Contractor IDs shall be obtained as soon as possible after award, as they are necessary for any data analysis to begin.

Task 5.1 can be initiated prior to getting the Census Special Sworn Status.

1.10 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

The Contractor shall attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with FAR Subpart 42.5. The Government intends to convene a Post Award

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Conference with the Contractor within ten business days after contract award. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor of the specific date, and agenda within five business days after contract award.

1.11 Status Meetings

The Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and other Government personnel, as appropriate may meet periodically with the Contractor to also review Contractor performance, requirement status, etc. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the

Contractor's performance or progress of the requirement. The Contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government. Post Award Conference and subsequent meetings with the exception of the interim and final briefings may be held via teleconference.

1.12 Contractor Travel

N/A

1.13 Transition In

N/A

1.14 Transition Out

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

Business/Work Days - Every official work day of the week which are days between and including Monday to

Friday. This does not include public holidays and weekends.

Calendar Day - Any day of the week.

Contractor - A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the

Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Contracting Officer (CO) - A person with authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government. Note: the only individual who can legally bind the Government.

Defective Service - A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the

Performance Work Statement.

Deliverable -Anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

Government Furnished Property (GFP) - Government-furnished property means property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a contract.

Government-furnished property includes, but is not limited to, spares and property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification. Government-furnished property also includes contractor-acquired property if the contractor-acquired property is a deliverable under a cost contract when accepted by the Government for continued use under the contract.

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Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the Contracting

Officer to perform contract administration activities in regard to technical issues. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - A listing of the performance requirements under the contract that are to be evaluated by the Government on a regular basis, performance indicators for these requirements, performance standards for these requirement and surveillance methods to be used to determine if performance standards are met.

Performance Standard - The Contractor's performance level required by the Government.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A Performance Work Statement for performance-based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Physical Security - Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

Quality Assurance (QA) - Policies and procedures adopted by the Government to ensure that supplies and services acquired under Government contracts conform to the contracts quality requirements.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - A plan describing how the agency will survey, observe, test, sample, evaluate and document the Contractor's performance in meeting critical performance standards identified in the contract.

Quality Control (QC) - All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product of service shall meet contract requirements.

Service Contract - A contract that directly engages the time and effort of a Contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply.

Subcontractor - Any person , other than the prime Contractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any supplies, material, equipment, or services of any kind under a prime contract or a subcontract entered into in connection with such prime contract, and any person who offers to furnish or furnishes general supplies to the prime contractor or a higher tier subcontractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with a subcontractor.

Work Week - Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2 Acronyms

AHS-American Housing Survey

AQL - Acceptable Quality Level

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

CO - Contracting Officer

COR - Contracting Officer Representative

CPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer of HUD

EST - Eastern Standard Time (U.S.)

ETC - Estimate to Completion

FY-Fiscal Year

GAO - U.S. General Accounting Office

HIRM- Housing Insecurity Research Module

HUD - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

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HUDAR - HUD Acquisition Regulation

HUD/ISG - Internet Services Group within the Telecom Processing Division

HUD Web - HUDs Intranet Web Site and related WEB pages.

IG or OIG - Inspector General (Office of)

IT - Information Technology

OCPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

OIG - Office of Inspector General

OMB - Office of Management and Budget

PL- Public Law

PM - Project Manager

PD&R - Office of Policy Development and Research

POC - Point of Contact

QA - Quality Assurance

QASP - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

QCP - Quality Control Plan

SF - Standard Form

TBD - To be determined

U.S.C - United States Code

3. Government-Furnished Property and Services

The Contractor shall ensure accurate control and accountability of all Government-Furnished Property in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The Government will furnish, at no cost to the

Contractor, the GFP shown below.

3.1 Government Services

3.2 Facilities

The Government will provide office space for the contractor at the HUD Survey Sponsor Data Center (SSDC).

3.3 Equipment

The Government will provide a computer. Each computer will have the basic necessary software required to perform the duties outlined in the requirements. Each office provided by the Government may have a phone, desk and chair.

3.4 Materials

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

The Government shall evaluate the Contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality

Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the

Contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable quality level.

4. Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

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The Contractor shall furnish, all facilities, equipment, and supplies required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government-Furnished Property and Services.

4.1 Facilities

The Contractor shall furnish facilities to meet the requirements under this PWS. The literature review task and analyses of results and output that has been approved for public release by the Census Disclosure Review Board may be performed at the contractor’s facility.

4.2 Equipment

The Contractor shall furnish all equipment to meet the requirements under this PWS.

4.3 Material

The Contractor shall furnish all materials to meet the requirements under this PWS.

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

The Contractor shall only conduct business with designated Government personnel listed as points of contact

(POCs). Names of authorized personnel shall be provided to the Contractor by the Government, in writing, and updated as necessary throughout the contract period.

U.S. Government records, copies of original results and reports, verified original data, corrected data and corrected supporting final reports which are maintained by the Contractor remain the property of the U.S.

Government. These files/results must be surrendered to the COR.

4.5 Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall provide a Contract/Project Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of work. An alternate shall also be designated to act in the absence of the Contract/Project Manager. These

Contractor personnel (main point of contact and alternate point of contact) are considered Key Personnel by the

Government and shall be listed as such in accordance with HUDAR 2452.237-70, "Key Personnel.”

The Contract/Project Manager and alternate shall have full authority to act on all contact matters relating to daily operations of this contract. Accordingly, at a minimum, the points of contact shall have the technical knowledge of the requirement and be in the position to actually receive assignment, guidance, and direction from the COR, SubCOR and CO per HUDAR 2452.237-73, "Conduct of Work and Technical Guidance" and shall be allocated enough hours to the requirement to ensure successful performance.

These points of points of contact shall each be an employee of the Contractor. An employee of a subcontractor is not acceptable for either of these positions. The Contract/Project Manager or alternate shall be available between the hours of 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday EST, except Federal Holidays or when the Government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

In order to perform the research in this Contract, in addition to the Contract/Program Manager, the Contract must have:

• Staff with demonstrated expertise in scale development, survey methodology, housing research, non-probability sampling and weighting, SAS (the statistical package available in the SSDC), and literature review development.

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4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall wear company picture identification badges as to distinguish themselves from Government employees. When conversing with Government personnel during business meetings, over the telephone, or via electronic mail, Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall identify themselves as such to avoid situations arising where sensitive topics might be better discussed solely between Government employees. Contractors/subcontractors shall identify themselves on any attendance sheet or any coordination documents they may review. Electronic mail signature blocks shall identify their company affiliation. Where practicable, Contractor/subcontractors occupying collocated space with their Government program customer shall identify their workspace area with their name and company affiliation, or at a minimum, "Contractor" after name.

The contractor shall also obtain Census Special Sworn Status for all contractor personnel assigned to analyze internal use AHS data as part of the project. All such personnel shall obtain HUD Contractor IDs, so that they may analyze the data in the HUD Survey Sponsor Data Center (SSDC). Census Special Sworn Status and HUD

Contractor IDs shall be obtained as soon as possible after award, as they as necessary for any data analysis to begin.

4.7 Quality Control

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete quality control program that shall ensure services are performed in accordance with this contract. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non reoccurrence of defective services. The Contractor's quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall provide the associated Quality Control Plan to the Government as directed.

4.7.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce, and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP). The QCP shall ensure the Government receives the level of quality that is consistent with the requirements specified in this contract. The QCP shall be sufficiently detailed to provide the Contractor's methodology for identifying and recruiting qualified personnel. The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for resolving problems identified by the Government during reviews conducted in accordance with its Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

(QASP). The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for establishing an internal feedback system for support personnel, and for resolving problems identified by that feedback system. The QCP shall demonstrate and validate that the services or deliverables to be provided under the contract are completed with a level of quality that meets the minimum performance threshold established in the Government's QASP. The QCP shall address Quality

Management Approach, Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Quality Standards.

Deliverables

Quality Control Plan

4.8 Management Plan

The Contractor’s Draft Management Plan shall be delivered to the COR and CO within 14 days after contract award. HUD will respond with comments within 7 days. The Contractor shall submit a final Management Plan incorporating HUD’s comments within 7 days. The Management Plan shall be submitted to the COR and CO within 15 business days when changes are made thereafter. After acceptance of the Management Plan, the

Contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer’s acceptance in writing of any proposed changes to the Plan.

The Management Plan shall conform to the following criteria:

A. The Management Plan shall be clear, concise, and demonstrate that it will result in meeting the objectives and requirements contained within Performance Work Statement.

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B. The Management Plan shall identify the following:

1. Key personnel roles and responsibilities;

2. Proposed subcontracting or teaming arrangements and reporting relationship of all subcontractors and team members; clearly identify what aspects of the work will be performed by the prime and what aspects of the work will be performed by each subcontractor in its technical approach.

3. Schedules of all tasks and subtasks, meetings, and deliverables;

4. A plan that demonstrates successful communication and coordination between the Contractor and the government personnel/roles;

5. An organization chart with key personnel roles and names; subcontractors and teaming partners.

The chart shall demonstrate clear lines of authority from the top of the organization to all those working on this effort.

Deliverables

Management plan

4.9 Monthly Progress Reports

The contractor shall provide to the CO and COR monthly progress report with a summary of each task in the contract on a monthly basis. The monthly reports shall be submitted electronically as a Word document. The contractor shall be available to discuss the deliverables and progress reports via teleconferences. The monthly summaries shall be submitted by the 15th day of each month and include overall progress of the work and specific progress made on each task made in the preceding month, including a discussion of work performed and any unforeseen occurrences. The contractor shall also provide an up-to-date summary of the planned and actual spending by month and by task in each update.

Monthly Progress Reports

5. Specific Tasks:

5.1 Generate Research Design and Literature Review

The contractor shall (1) conduct a literature review of housing insecurity research since 2015 and state-of-the-art scale development methods and (2) propose a revised analysis plan based upon the literature review and their initial analysis of the 2019 AHS Housing Insecurity Research Module (HIRM) data and 2019 Core AHS data. The research design and literature review shall also be included in the technical appendix to the interim and final reports.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Deliverables are made in accordance with schedule

AQL: Zero Deviation

b) Standard: After review, all necessary revisions submitted to the Contractor shall be made and submitted within five business days of receipt of comments

Literature Review

Research Design

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5.2 Conduct Analysis and Generate Interim Report

The contractor shall conduct analyses to develop multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales, categorical housing insecurity variables derived from these scales, and HIRM questions to be excluded from these scales and Core AHS questions to be included in these scales. Scale validity shall be evaluated by methods including, but not limited to, comparison of scales to Worst Case Housing Needs measures, the food security index, and measures of generalized stress and health.

a) Standard: Provides clear analysis of the data

b) Standard: Deliver report in accordance with schedule and meet acceptable professional standards for writing.

c) Standard: Report should be 100% consistent with the AHS data

5.2.1 Prepare and Deliver Interim Briefing

The contractor shall prepare and deliver an in-person Interim Briefing to HUD staff at HUD Headquarters (451 7th

Street SW, Washington, DC 20410) on the Interim Report.

Performance Standard

a) Provides clear analysis of data

Interim Briefing Report

Interim Briefing

5.2.2 Generate Final Interim Report

Following delivery of the Interim Report, HUD will provide editorial comments. The contractor shall accept or reject edits and address comments to produce a Publication-Ready Interim Report. No data analysis will be required for this task.

a) Deliver report in accordance with schedule and met acceptable professional standards for writing.

b) Report should be 100% consistent with the AHS data

Final Interim Report

5.3 Conduct Analysis and Generate Draft Final Report

The contractor shall continue and finalize analyses to develop multidimensional and unidimensional housing insecurity scales, categorical housing insecurity variables derived from these scales, and HIRM variables to be excluded from and Core AHS variables to be included in these scales. Scale validity shall be evaluated by methods

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The contractor shall prepare the draft Final Report responding to HUDs written comments on the Interim Report, verbal comments from the Interim briefing, and data analyses conducted after the interim briefing.

a) Standard: Deliver report in accordance with schedule and met acceptable professional standards for writing.

b) Standard: Provides clear analysis of the data

Draft Final Report

5.3.1 Prepare and Deliver Final Briefing

The contractor shall prepare and deliver an in-person Final Briefing to HUD staff at HUD Headquarters (451 7th

Street SW, Washington, DC 20410) on the Final Report.

Performance Standard

a) Standard: Provides clear analysis of the data

Draft Final Report

Draft Final Briefing

Second Draft Final Report

Final Briefing

5.4 Generate Publication-Ready Final Report

Following delivery of the Final Report, HUD will provide substantive and editorial comments. Under this task, the contractor shall accept or reject edits and address comments to produce a Publication-Ready Final Report.

a) Standard: Deliver report at time specified and met acceptable professional standards for writing.

AQL: Zero Deviation.

b) Standard: Reports should be 100% consistent with the AHS data.

c) Standard: Provides clear analysis of the data

Publication-Ready Final Report

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6. Deliverables

The Contractor shall complete all work and submit all deliverables as specified herein. The Government reserves the right to make changes to delivery dates.

Base Period (2019-2020)

Number Description Quantity Due Dates

Quality Control Plan (PWS 4.7.1 and 6.1) 1 14 Days*

Management Plan (PWS 4.8) 1 14 Days*

Progress Report (PWS 4.9) 1 15th of each month

0001AA Literature Review (PWS 5.1) 1 7 months*

0001AA Research Design (PWS 5.1) 1 7 months*

0001AB Interim Briefing Report and Briefing (PWS 5.2) 1 12 months*

* From contract award effective date

Option Period 1 (2020-2021)

Number Description Quantity Due Dates

Progress Report (PWS 4.9) 1 15th of each month

0002AA Final Interim Report (PWS 5.2) 1 2 months**

0002AB Draft Final Report and Briefing (PWS 5.3) 1 7 months**

0002AB Second Draft Final Report (PWS 5.3) 1 10 Months**

0002AC Publication-Ready Final Report (PWS 5.4) 3 12 Months**

** From contract option period 1 effective date

6.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce, and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP). The QCP shall ensure the Government receives the level of quality that is consistent with the requirements specified in this contract. The Contractors draft QCP shall be delivered to the COR and CO within 14 days after contract award.

HUD will respond with comments within seven days. The Contractor shall submit a final QCP incorporating HUDs comments within seven days. The QCP shall be submitted to the COR and CO within 15 business days when

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The Quality Control Plan shall conform to the following criteria:

The QCP shall be sufficiently detailed to provide the Contractors methodology for identifying and recruiting qualified personnel.

The QCP shall also identify the following:

1. The QCP shall also provide the Contractors methodology for resolving problems identified by the Government during reviews conducted in accordance with its Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

(QASP).

2. The QCP shall also provide the Contractors methodology for establishing an internal feedback system for support personnel, and for resolving problems identified by that feedback system.

3. The QCP shall demonstrate and validate that the services or deliverables to be provided under the contract are completed with a level of quality that meets the minimum performance threshold established in the

Governments QASP.

The Contractor's QCP shall be delivered to the COR within 30 days after contract award (or with the Contractor's proposal if it is an evaluation factor). The QCP shall be submitted to the COR within 5 business days when changes are made thereafter. After acceptance of the QCP, the Contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer's acceptance in writing of any proposed change to its quality control system.

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance of all deliverables shall follow the deliverables schedule as outlined in the contract.

The Contractor shall perform at the highest levels of professional and technical competence in performing the tasks identified within this PWS to achieve HUDs stated objectives.

The Contractor shall work closely with the COR to ensure all deliverables conform to the task descriptions stated herein. All deliverables shall be grammatically correct, reflect comprehensive research, incorporate HUDs feedback, and address HUDs concerns.

7. Performance Requirements Summary

The summary chart below lists the contract's primary requirements, the associated performance standards, the expected target performance, and the methods of surveillance. While some contract requirements may not be listed in the chart below, requirements not appearing on the PRS chart do not negate the Contractor's obligation to perform all requirements as specified in the contract. Additionally, HUD reserves all rights and remedies under the provisions and clauses of the contract when performance of any contract requirement, whether or not listed below, is unacceptable.

HUD will develop a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan to be used to provide contract oversight. In conjunction with the Contractor's Quality Control Plan and various other methods of assessing performance, the COR and

SubCOR may perform on-site reviews and/or other types of verification to determine that the specified target performance requirements have been met.

Regular review of Contractor performance is critical to the overall success of the contract. On a monthly basis, the

COR will evaluate the quality of the product or services. The contractor shall provide to the CO and COR monthly progress report with a summary of each task in the contract. The monthly reports shall be submitted electronically

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8. Related Documents

The Contractor shall abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, policies, and procedures in the performance of this contract.

8.1 Section 508 Compliance

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. All future HUD web sites and applications must be developed to be compliant with Section 508. Each Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) product or service furnished under this contract shall comply with the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (36 CFR 1194), as specified in the contract, as a minimum. If the Contracting Officer determines any furnished product or service is not in compliance with the contract, the Contracting Officer will promptly inform the Contractor in writing. The

Contractor shall, without charge to the Government, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period of time to be specified by the Government in writing.

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Performance Requirement Summary (PRS)

Statements Standards/AQLs Incentive/Remedy

5.1 Generate Research

Design and Literature

Review.

a) Deliverables are made in accordance with schedule

b) After review, all necessary revisions submitted to the Contractor shall be made and submitted within five business days of receipt of comments

5.2 Conduct Analysis and

Generate Interim

Report

a) Standard: Provides clear analysis of the data

b) Standard: Deliver report in accordance with schedule and meet acceptable professional standards for writing.

c) Standard: Report should be 100% consistent with the AHS data

5.2.1 Prepare and Deliver

Interim Briefing

a) Provides clear analysis of data

5.2.2 Generate final Interim

Report

a) Deliver report in accordance with schedule and met acceptable professional standards for writing.

b) Report should be 100% consistent with the AHS data

5.3 Conduct Analysis and

Generate Draft Final

Report

a) Standard: Deliver report in accordance with schedule and met acceptable professional standards for writing.

b) Standard: Provides clear analysis of

5.3.1 Prepare and Deliver

Final Briefing

a) Standard: Provides clear analysis of

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5.4 Generate Publication-

Ready Final Report

a) Standard: Deliver report at time specified and met acceptable professional standards for writing.

AQL: Zero Deviation. Reports should be 100% consistent with the AHS data.

b) Standard: Reports should be 100% consistent with the AHS data.

c) Standard: Provides clear analysis of

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