B08_Attch_3_JOTR_TO_SOW.pdf

Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Survey 11/01/2024

TASK ORDER

SCOPE OF WORK

Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Survey

BACKGROUND AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR) has experienced a steady increase in visitation. Between 2013 and 2023, the past ten years of available visitation data, annual recreation visits to JOTR have more than doubled. Yet, JOTR has not conducted a visitor survey since this period of rapid growth in visitation began. The need to gain information about parkwide visitors is critical for accurately understanding visitors and responding to changes through park management. Likewise, similar parks like Zion National Park and Arches National Park have seen major changes in visitor dynamics and spending over the decade of visitation growth. Needed information collected by this study includes who visits the park, what they do, where they go, and factors influencing visitor spending profiles. Collecting these data via a Socioeconomic Monitoring survey will provide NPS planners the best data to compare information about parkwide visitors across time.

This task order procures a park wide visitor survey in JOTR during peak season to update visitor spending profiles and to gain a comprehensive understanding of who visits the park, what they do, and where visitors go during their visit to the park in order to support upcoming park planning processes. This survey will be administered during the peak visitation period for the park (i.e., March 2026) and will conform to the Tailored Design Methods applied to Visitor Services Project and pilot Socioeconomic Monitoring efforts historically. The survey will be administered over a 10-day sampling period to estimate visitor spending, preferences, and behaviors.

STUDY LOCATIONS

The study location is Joshua Tree National Park, CA. This task order will be performed both onsite in JOTR and at the Contractor’s place of business.TASK ORDER REQUIREMENTS AND DELIVERABLES Contractor will provide and incorporate overall project management services into all tasks outlined in this task order, including:

A. General Project Management – Administer the project contract, coordinate personnel and sub-consultant activities, prepare and maintain the project schedule, and prepare invoicing.

B. QA/QC – Assure that any submittal has passed through their quality assurance and quality control process and is ready for review. Contractor will clearly communicate project requirements to the team, so team members understand the project expectations.

C. Project Schedule – Prepare and maintain an appropriate project schedule throughout the life of the project. The schedule will be used as a tool to manage the project and will be updated as specific dates are resolved.

D. Project Update Meetings – Participate in project update progress meetings to review schedules, milestone updates, and corrective measures. These updates will likely be in the form of call-in teleconferences that will be coordinated and set-up by the Contractor and Park Project Manager.

TASK 1.0 Parkwide Visitor Survey

The on-site survey will be collected onsite at JOTR from visitors during their trip while recreating throughout the park, during the peak visitation month. The information collected through this survey is intended to broadly understand visitors’ experiences, activities, information sources used, spending patterns, and demographics. The Information Collections Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for compliance with the paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) has been completed for the NPS Socioeconomic Monitoring Program (SEM). This survey will conform to the specifications for the SEM survey and be administered under the SEM OMB approval.

Task 1.1 Study Design and Methods Development

The contractor will:

• Organize and schedule project scoping phone calls (up to 3 calls, 1-hour each) with park staff and NPS social science program.

o Understand the nature of park staff concerns related to visitors’ experience at JOTR and provide input into survey questionnaires’ content.

• Develop draft visitor survey instrument that examines JOTR visitors’ experience, spending patterns, and visitation characteristics.

o Survey topics will include, but not be limited to, questions about park-wide visitor characteristics, spending behaviors, activities, and preferences. Assume this survey will include an initial data collection using an electronic tablet followed by a more in-depth mail back survey.

• Develop logistics plan to implement visitor survey including a sampling plan, identifying staffing needs, staff scheduling, and obtaining a park research permit.

• Print final questionnaires, produce interview logs, and provide necessary equipment to successfully complete survey administration. Questionnaires are required to be available at all intercept locations in English and potentially in another language (e.g., Spanish) at the park’s request.

• Coordinate with JOTR point of contact in order to obtain a park research permit and to organize logistics of visitor survey.

Task 1.1 Deliverables

• Draft survey instrument

• Final survey instrument

Task 1.2 Parkwide Survey Administration The Contractor will:

• Provide staffing for survey administration at up to three intercept locations at any given time that align with corridors or locations of Visitor Use Statistics counters.

• Administer survey data collection using an electronic tablet to collect a subset of survey questions during initial contact with respondent.

• Administer mail-back survey with a target of 400 completed surveys to park visitors assuming a 50% response rate (800 total surveys distributed).

• Provide adequate staffing and equipment to complete visitor survey. It is assumed that data collection for the visitor survey and study will include 1 scoping day and 10 sampling days.

• Collect data from non-respondents to conduct “non-response” bias.

• Mail willing participants a thank you post card, also serving as a reminder to respond to the original questionnaire.

• Print and remail two replacement questionnaires to voluntary park visitors intercepted for the study that have yet to complete the initial questionnaire.

Task 1.2 Deliverables

• Preliminary results from electronic tablet survey.

• Final results documented in technical report (Task 2.1).

Task 1.3 Data Entry and Storage The contractor will:

● Conduct data entry and create a data storage plan for visitor survey study.

● Ensure correct data entry to electronic format of “write in” responses (i.e., responses to questions that require respondents to write words or numbers).

● Conduct and report results of non-response bias analysis.

● Conduct statistical analysis of visitor survey data and compile summary statistics (e.g., mean, median, mode, quantiles, correlations (Pearson’s rho), Chi-square, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), factor analysis, and scale reliability analysis), as applicable.

Task 1.3 Deliverables

• Formatted visitor survey dataset.

• Final results documented in technical report (Task 2.1).

Task 2.1 Reporting The contractor will:

● Develop a final report summarizing findings from parkwide visitor survey.

● The draft report will be reviewed and commented on by the NPS Social Science Program (SSP) and JOTR staff before proceeding with the finalization of the report. NPS review to be completed within 21 calendar days.

● Final reporting will be delivered to JOTR in hard copy (four copies) and to the SSP in electronic formats (PDF and Word). Electronic reports will be 508 Compliant and conform to the Natural Resource Report Series format.

● Present study results and recommendation to park staff via 2-hour videoconference presentation.

Task 2.1 Deliverables

• Draft technical report.

• Final technical report.

https://www.nps.gov/im/reports-nrr.htm https://www.nps.gov/im/reports-nrr.htm

• Results presentation to park management.

Data management:

Clearly outline data management protocols within the SIP that conforms to SQL Server Compliant database use that can easily be transferred to the SSP and other users of these raw data. Database architecture shall be reviewed and approved by NPS SSP for ease of transference and querying.

Report results in draft and final iterations. Reports shall:

Fully explain the data sources, methods, results, and limitations. While this material is essentially technical in nature, the narrative will use plain English where appropriate for general audiences.

The draft and final reports are considered data deliverables. The draft and final report shall be provided electronically to the call order contracting officer with a copy to the COR or park representative defined in this task order. The reports shall be submitted in both Adobe (pdf) and Microsoft Word format (doc(x)) formats. The reports shall confirm to most recent versions of the Natural Resource Report Series and be Section 508 compliant.

Raw data will be provided to JOTR and SSP and must be compatible with SQL Server compliant formats.

Data will be provided via SPSS and XLS files.

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure

Contractor-generated preliminary and final deliverables, all associated working papers, and other materials relevant in the performance of individual Task orders subject to the limitations in FAR Clause 52.227-17 Rights in Data – Special Works and must be submitted to the IDIQ Task Order Contracting Officer with copy to the designated COR.

All documents produced as deliverables for any projects under this IDIQ contract shall not be used, released, reproduced, distributed, or published without written permission of the Contracting Officer.

All project documentation (deliverables, not Contractor working papers unless specifically required in the IDIQ Task Order) shall be provided as required. The Contractor shall not release, communicate or otherwise disseminate information to any other parties without the written consent of the IDIQ Task Order Contracting Officer.

Task orders issued by the National Park Service, Washington Contracting Office, Lakewood, CO shall be sent to:

Contracting Officer’s Representative: Contracting Officer:

National Park Service National Park Service NRSS, Social Science Program Washington Contracting Office Attn: John McGreevy, Social Scientist Attn: Joyce Hongell, Contracting Officer 1201 Oakridge Dr. PO Box 25287 Fort Collins, CO 80525 7333 West Jefferson Avenue, Suite 100 Phone: 970-617-8298 Lakewood, CO 80225-5287 john_mcgreevy@nps.gov Joyce_hongell@nps.gov

Park technical contact:

National Park Service Joshua Tree National Park Jane Rodgers 74485 National Park Drive Twentynine Palms, CA 92277-3597 Phone: 760-401-5117 Email: jane_rodgers@nps.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

This task order will be performed remotely at times for both the initial award and exercising of the option. Site scoping and survey implementation will require on-site presence at Joshua Tree National Park. The extent to which this is required is dependent on the approach, methods, and collections yet to be determined.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this task order will commence upon award for a period of 24 months.

GENERAL SCHEDULE

• Scoping calls– Shall be conducted within 2-months from Notice to Proceed.

• Task 1 deliverables shall be within 3-months of scoping calls.

• NPS shall have 21 calendar days to review and comment on any deliverables.

• Contractor shall have 1-month to revise deliverables to incorporate NPS review comments.

Task Completion and Deliverable Schedule

Assumes project start date of 1/1/2026 or earlier.

Task Item/Deliverable Date

Task 1.1 Study Design Methods Development Jan 2026

Draft Study Plan and Survey Instrument Feb 1, 2026

Final Study Plan and Survey Instrument Feb 14, 2026

Task 1.2 Parkwide Survey Administration March 2026

Preliminary Results August 2026

Task 1.3 Data Entry and Storage Aug 2024 – Nov 2026

Formatted Final Visitor Survey Dataset January 7, 2027

Task 2.1 Reporting July – August 2027

Draft Report August 7, 2027

Final Report September 14, 2027

Invoice Payments

Task 1.0 Deliverable Percent Payment of Task Funding

Upon Completion

Task 1.1 Study Design and Methods Development

Logistics Plan and Draft Survey Instrument 50%

Final Survey Instrument 50%

Task 1.2 Parkwide Survey Administration

Preliminary Results 75%

Final Results Documented in Draft Report (2.1) 25%

Task 1.3 Data Entry and Storage

Formatted Final Visitor Survey Dataset 75%

Final Results Documented in Draft Report (2.1) 25%

Task 3.0 Deliverable Percent Payment of Task Funding

Upon Completion

Task 2.1 Reporting

Draft Report 50%

Final Report 50%

End of Task Order