Hypothetical_task_3_tabling.docx

Hypothetical Tasks

The statement of work will include three hypothetic tasks for which the offeror is asked to provide proposals. The proposed plan for each hypothetical task shall be presented in a summary format; an outline or bullet format is acceptable if it conveys the necessary information. Plans shall summarize the offeror's strategy and technical approach by specifying objectives, probable methodologies, data sources, applicable analytic approaches, anticipated difficulties, and proposed approaches for overcoming those difficulties. Plans shall also include a schedule of activities. Plans should divide a task into sub-tasks as appropriate, and need not adhere to the sub-task structure, if any, listed in the hypothetical task orders. Plans shall describe the categories of personnel and levels of effort (labor hours) required, and shall include resumes of illustrative personnel for the task, but shall not contain any discussion of costs. Cost information related to the hypothetical task orders is requested separately as part of the business proposal.

In responding, offerors shall assume that they have just received a copy of the statement of work from the NSF Contracting Officer and shall deliver within one week a task plan with a level of detail commensurate with the overall scope of the work for the task. Evaluation of the offeror’s technical proposal will be based in part on the quality of its response to the hypothetical statements of work. Responses to the hypothetical task statement of work are due at proposal closing and are counted against technical proposal page limits.

(c). Hypothetical Task 3. Creating Tables and Figures from Publicly Available Microdata

Background

The American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata (PUMS) are large, nationally representative microdata files containing information on an individual’s education, employment, and basic demographic information (see http://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/public_use_microdata_sample/).

Statement of Work

Using the 2013 ACS 3-year data file, the contractor shall prepare tables on the following data elements:

1. Median earnings for those with a bachelor’s degree as their highest education level, by broad field of bachelor’s degree and 5-year age groupings, beginning with age 20. Age groups shall be in the columns of the table and male and female shall be shown separately.

2. Counts of individuals in each major S&E occupation group by 3 education levels (< bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree). Major occupation groups shall be research, development, design, or practitioner occupations; technologist and technician occupations; postsecondary teaching occupations; managerial occupations; and sales occupations. Males and females shall be shown separately.

3. Three tables showing the proportion of females among those employed full-time in the 5 major science and engineering occupation groups described above, by 5-year age groupings, beginning at age 20, for each of three education levels (< bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree). There shall be one table per education level and age groupings shall be in the columns.

Using the annual ACS public use files from 2004 to 2013, the contractor shall prepare:

4. A figure showing how the proportion of females has changed over time in the 5 major S&E occupation groups using the annual ACS public use files from 2004 to 2013.

For further information on fields of study and occupations, see SESTAT metadata explorer at http://sestat.nsf.gov/metadataexplorer/. Versions of the ACS PUMS which include replicate weights are available at https://usa.ipums.org. For each table above, the contractor shall prepare an accompanying table with the standard errors of the estimates using appropriate replicate weighting methods.

Task-specific Technical Instructions

The contractor shall format tables and figures in accordance with the NCSES Science and Engineering Indicators Style Guide. The offeror’s submission for this task should be approximately 1-2 pages long, and include any questions that might be appropriate to clarify ambiguities in the statement of work.

Business Proposal Instructions

For cost estimation purposes, offerors shall provide an estimate of the amount of money to be allocated to the activity, the overall plan of activities to be performed, and the labor categories and costs for the activity.