Draft HERD SOW FYs 2026-2029.pdf

National Science Foundation Higher Education Research & Development (HERD) Survey and

Federally Funded R&D Centers (FFRDC) R&D Survey for FYs 2026 - 2029 Survey Cycles

Statement of Work

I. Purpose

The purpose of this acquisition is to collect data on research and development (R&D) expenditures and activities at universities and colleges and federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs) for survey cycles FY 2026, FY 2027, FY 2028, and FY 2029.

II. Background

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) collects, maintains, and disseminates information on science and engineering resources in the United States. Specifically, Section 505 within the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 directs NSF as follows:

“(a) Establishment- There is established within the Foundation a National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics that shall serve as a central Federal clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology, and research and development.

(b) Duties- In carrying out subsection (a) of this section, the Director, acting through the Center shall--

(1) collect, acquire, analyze, report, and disseminate statistical data related to the science and engineering enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public, including statistical data on--

(A) research and development trends;…”

NCSES collects data on U.S. resources allocated to the funding and performance of research and development (R&D). Among other data, NCSES collects information on levels of R&D expenditures in different economic sectors and on the sources of funds that are used to conduct R&D. The higher education sector is one of four sectors (business, government, higher education, and other private nonprofit) that perform R&D. NCSES combines higher education sector data with other sector data to estimate total national R&D expenditures and each sector’s contribution to the national figure (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/natlpatterns/).

The Higher Education R&D Survey (HERD) provides essential data on the resources devoted to research and development in the U.S. higher education sector where over one half of the nation's basic research is conducted. The survey provides both summary data on R&D resources, by source and discipline, and data on individual institutions.

Initiated in 1953 and conducted annually since 1972, the HERD Survey collects data on the research and development (R&D) expenditures at over 900 U.S. universities, where more than $110 billion was spent on R&D in FY 2024 and almost half of the Nation's basic research is conducted.

The HERD Survey data provide R&D metrics that enable funding decisions to ensure America’s technological leadership. Results of this survey are combined with other NCSES data for the federal government, state government, nonprofit, and business sectors to create national levels of R&D spending, as required by Section 505 within the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Without information from the HERD Survey, NSF policymakers, as well as other policymakers in the Executive Branch, Congress and the states, would have an inaccurate understanding of the Nation’s R&D activities. Information from the HERD Survey is provided to the Congressional Research Service, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy through published reports, briefings by the NSF Director and staff, and special tabulations. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA/DOC) uses data from the HERD Survey for the development of R&D investment in the core accounts of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and other National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs). The HERD data are also used extensively by the higher educational community including the universities, themselves, and associated professional societies.

Additionally, the HERD Survey serves as the universe for a related survey mandated by the United States Congress: The Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities (Section 108, Public Law 99-159 [1986]). Data from the HERD Survey is also incorporated into the statutorily required biennial report, The State of U.S. Science and Engineering. This report is mandated by Congress (42 U.S.C. 1863, Section (j)(1)).

The FFRDC R&D survey uses a subset of the questions from the HERD survey to annually survey all FFRDCs. FFRDCs are facilities that perform R&D activities in support of specific federal agencies and receive at least 70% of their financial support from the federal government.

This module collects information on total FFRDC R&D expenditures by source of funding and character of work. See http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/ for the most recent master list of FFRDCs.

III. Objectives

The objective of this acquisition is to enter into a task order to:

Conduct the FY2026, FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 survey cycles for the Higher Education R&D (HERD) Survey and the FFRDC R&D Survey;

Conduct research on survey design and methodologies including, but not limited to, eligibility criteria and screening of institutions to be included in the target population; the respondent contact strategy process; survey instruments; and editing and imputation;

Maintain a database consisting of individual institution data from the HERD and FFRDC surveys;

Generate data tables using the database;

Produce publications to release the HERD and FFRDC data for each survey cycle;

Prepare public use files for each survey cycle;

Format the data for use in National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) databases;

Prepare and deliver data files from each survey cycle to NCSES for the NCSES data repository;

Maintain respondent relations and questionnaire development via site visits, workshops and expert panels.

IV. Methodology

The HERD survey is a census of R&D-performing higher education institutions. The FY 2024 survey collected information from 914 academic institutions. Beginning in FY 2012, the HERD survey population was split into separate populations based on their R&D expenditures thresholds. Institutions reporting $1 million or more in R&D expenditures in the previous fiscal year are asked to respond to the full HERD survey, whereas institutions reporting under $1 million the previous fiscal year are sent a short form version of the survey containing only a few questions (Attachment 4). In FY 2024, 664 institutions were included in the full HERD survey and 250 institutions were included in the Short Form Survey. The short form data are only displayed in a subset of data tables, for the variables that are included in both surveys.

The HERD survey is completed by institutional coordinators at U.S. universities and colleges.

The majority of the respondents work in one of the following institutional offices: accounting, grants and contracts, controller, financial, institutional research, or sponsored programs.

The survey target population includes U.S. institutions that award bachelor’s or higher degrees in any field and annually perform at least $150,000 in separately accounted for R&D.

Both the HERD survey and the FFRDC survey are primarily web surveys. Respondents can choose to print and submit an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) questionnaire, but no respondents have done this in the most recent cycles. They can also download a Microsoft Excel file containing the survey questionnaire and then upload their responses automatically into the web survey. This enables respondents to work offline and share their draft responses with others at the institution before uploading into the web survey system. Respondents are sent survey information and a user ID and password via e-mail. The web system contains instructions and built-in help aids which are replicated in the printable PDF version in order to ease reporting.

Each institution's web survey displays data from 2 preceding years for arithmetical and trend checks. CSV and Excel formatted files containing data from 5 preceding years are also available for respondents. Large increases or decreases in expenditures compared to the preceding years are automatically flagged by the system and respondents are asked to explain and reconcile these differences before submitting the survey. Data collection begins in November each year with an official survey deadline announced as January 31. A series of reminder e-mail and phone call contacts are used to encourage prompt responses from institutions and response rates have consistently reached over 95 percent.

The FY 2024 HERD Survey requested the following data:

R&D expenditures by source of funding (federal, state and local, institutional, business, nonprofit, or other)

Types of funding included as institutionally funded R&D expenditures R&D expenditures from foreign sources R&D expenditures by type of funding mechanism (contract vs. grant) R&D expenditures within an institution’s medical school R&D expenditures for clinical trials R&D expenditures by type of R&D (basic research, applied research, development) R&D expenditures received as a subrecipient R&D expenditures passed through to subrecipients R&D expenditures by field and federal agency (for federally funded expenditures) R&D expenditures by top 10 agency sources included in “Other federal sources” above R&D expenditures by field and nonfederal source (state and local, business, nonprofit, institutional, or other) R&D expenditures by cost categories (salaries and fringe, equipment, software, etc.)

Capitalization thresholds for software and equipment R&D expenditures for capitalized equipment by field Headcount and full-time equivalents (FTEs) of personnel paid from R&D accounts

The FY 2024 HERD Short Form requested the following data:

R&D expenditures by source of funding (federal, state and local, institutional, business, nonprofit, or other)

R&D expenditures by broad field and source of funding (federal or nonfederal) R&D expenditures passed through to higher education subrecipients R&D expenditures received as a subrecipient (from higher education pass-through entities)

Other key variables obtained from sources other than the survey instruments include:

Name of academic institution Institutional characteristics (highest degree granted, historically black college or university (HBCU), public or private control) Geographic location (within U.S.)

The FY 2024 FFRDC R&D Survey requested the following data:

R&D expenditures by source of funding (federal, state and local, business, nonprofit, or other)

R&D expenditures by federal agency source R&D expenditures by type of R&D (basic research, applied research, development) R&D expenditures by cost categories (salaries and fringe, equipment, software, etc.)

All survey cycles will continue the annual data collection effort for the census of R&D performing higher education institutions and of all FFRDCs. All items on the questionnaires are reported at the institutional level except for the breakdown of institution funds within question 1 of the HERD surveys (institutionally financed research, institution cost sharing, and unrecovered indirect costs), the amount of recovered vs. unrecovered indirect costs in question 12 on the full HERD survey, and the demographics for R&D personnel headcounts within question 15 on the full HERD survey. These items will be presented only as aggregate totals in resulting publications. The following confidentiality statement, covering these excepted survey items, is included on the questionnaires:

"Responses to the confidential items are collected under a pledge of confidentiality and will only be used for statistical purposes. Information from confidential items is not published or released for individual institutions; only aggregate totals will appear in publications. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018 and other applicable federal laws, your responses will not be disclosed in identifiable form to anyone other than agency employees or authorized persons. Any questionnaire item not marked as confidential will be available on a public use file. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the federal information systems that transmit your data."

The Contractor shall make all staff working with confidential data aware of the importance and requirements for maintaining confidentiality; ALL Contractor staff (including any subcontractors) working on the NSF confidential data must sign an NCSES Data Use Agreement, acknowledging their responsibilities to protect the data. A duly authorized representative of the organization with legal authority to bind the organization must also sign the Organization Data Use Agreement. In addition, Contractor staff using NCSES confidential data will also be required annually to take NCSES-required training about data confidentiality. This training will be made available via the Internet.

The period of performance for this effort will be from August 1, 2026 through April 30, 2031. The base period will be August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027. Option period 1 will be August 1, 2027 – July 31, 2029. Option period 2 will be August 1, 2029 – April 30, 2031.

V. Statement of Work

Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the statement of work below. The tasks required as part of this Statement of Work are below. All survey instruments, electronic and paper, and survey software developed under this task order are the property of NCSES.

The tasks in this statement of work are:

Task 1.0 Transition, Project Plan, and Procedures Task 2.0 Project Management Task 3.0 Conduct the 2026 Surveys Task 4.0 Conduct the 2027 Surveys

Task 5.0 Conduct the 2028 Surveys Task 6.0 Conduct the 2029 Surveys Task 7.0 Respondent Relations Task 8.0 Information Requests and Ad Hoc Analysis Task 9.0 Transition of Data, Materials, and Procedures to the Next Contractor

Task 1: Transition, Project Plan, and Procedures

This task includes, but is not limited to, the transition of the HERD and FFRDC surveys from the incumbent contractor to the new contractor and the establishment of a management structure and plans, including the procedures under which the project operates. Transition for the 2026 survey cycle and remaining transition activities will take place within six months of task order award and will require a coordination effort with the incumbent contractor to ensure successful transition of all past survey operations and data related items in the inventory. The new contractor shall update the project management plan and schedule included in their proposal. The final management plan should ensure a successful and timely completion of the 2026 surveys within budget with a targeted response rate of at least 95 percent.

1.1 Kick-off Meeting

Within two weeks after the award of the contract, the Contractor shall meet with the Contracting Officer (CO), the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and other NCSES staff to discuss and review tasks and deliverables. Discussions will include the overall project management plan and schedule for the 2026 surveys implementation, including plans for the transition from the incumbent. The Contractor shall prepare and submit the draft agenda three working days before the meeting for review/approval by the COR. This half-day meeting shall be held in Alexandria, VA at NSF.

Within one week following the initial meeting, the Contractor shall provide the COR with the meeting minutes describing each issue discussed, the conclusions reached, and revised plans as appropriate.

1.2 Transition Plan and Processes

Transition for the 2026 survey cycle and all transition activities will take place within six months of task order award. A closely concerted coordination effort with the incumbent contractor is needed to ensure successful transition of survey materials, data files, and documentation for all past survey operations and data-related items.

Successful transition is instrumental in carrying out the initial survey activities for the 2026 surveys.

The contractor shall develop a transition plan that includes the status of materials provided by the incumbent contractor (see list below) and any needs by the new contractor for information or materials. The detailed transition plan shall be submitted to the COR within three weeks from award of the contract, and shall include a detailed plan for the transition, testing, and operation of all IT systems, and an assessment of the risks accompanying the transition process.

Within 1 month of the task order award date, NCSES will host a meeting at which the new contractor shall meet with the incumbent contractor. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide the new contractor with background and materials and to convey the urgency of a smooth and expedient transition for the 2026 HERD and FFRDC surveys. The two contractors shall work together to ensure that the transition does not disrupt survey operations and service to survey respondents.

Materials to be provided by the incumbent at the start of this project include, but are not limited to, the following:

All software and associated systems documentation used for the 2025 HERD and FFRDC cycles;

Detailed and complete inventory of past survey documentation (including data collection contact materials) and data files (including public use files and NCSES data repository deliverables) provided by the incumbent and past contractors;

Electronic files containing all programs developed under previous contracts;

Master data file from the 2025 HERD and FFRDC cycles for use in the 2026 frame review and updating activities;

Table specifications and programming code used to produce the data tables and other reports;

Contact information received from each institution during the FY 2025 survey cycle;

Materials related to the evaluations, methodological research, and statistical activities performed by the incumbent contractor;

Historical/archival data files.

All materials shall be safely stored and/or archived. In addition, a detailed and complete inventory of all materials received and of all materials developed shall be maintained by the Contractor, for transition to the next contractor at the end of this task order. The Contractor is encouraged to identify other aspects of the project that should be included in the transition activities.

1.3 Survey Management Plan

Based on the kick-off meeting discussions and consultation with the COR, the Contractor shall review and revise the proposed Survey Management Plan. The Contractor shall submit a revised Survey Management Plan for NCSES review and approval within 2 weeks after the kick-off meeting.

The Survey Management Plan must contain the following:

Resource Plan

Staffing information including an organizational chart and proposed personnel crucial to successful project outcomes by task assignments, and their contact information; resumes, hourly rates, and the number of proposed hours per person per task per year (or a percentage of their time);

Status of materials provided by the incumbent contractor and identification of additional materials needed to move to a fully functioning operation

Communication Plan

Plan for establishing communication protocols between the Contractor’s staff and the COR;

Plan for releasing data and other products developed under this task order;

Plan to inform the respondent population about changes resulting from the transition to the new contractor, including changes in operations and procedures for communicating with the new contractor.

Project Management Plan

Schedule of activities under this task order using an electronic package such as MS Project for the development of a work breakdown schedule (WBS) which provides detailed schedules for completion of tasks and subtasks, to track/monitor progress and interrelated activities.

Plan for development of a real time information management system (IMS) that provides up-to-date information on all actions on tasks and deliverables. This IMS should provide the COR access to real time information that assists NCSES in managing the project and shall include but is not limited to the following information: when surveys were sent to each institution and when each institution responded; the mode of response; the number of institutional contacts initiated by the Contractor by mode of contact (paper, e-mail or telephone), date of contact and reason for contact; date each institution first logged on to the website; contacts initiated by the institutions, date of contact, the mode of contact and the issues raised; response rates.

Plan for budget and financial reporting system with detail, by year, task and subtask and at the task and subtask level actual versus projected costs by activity and staffing, to ensure careful monitoring of the negotiated costs vs. actual costs for the contract.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control Plan

The objective of Quality Assurance (QA) is the early identification and resolution of problems in cost, timeliness and quality of the survey processes and data file. The QA plan for the survey systems processes, files and databases shall contain procedures for quality assurance, and will evolve as the task order progresses. The QA plan shall also include risk assessments of any trade-offs involving data quality, the schedule, and the budget.

The QA plan shall address detailed procedures that are integrated throughout the entire range of survey activities, including all phases of data collection, processing and analysis;

for example, mailing packages that include the survey invitation and reminder letters, survey forms and instructions and other correspondence; response tracking; keying; data editing; table preparation and verification, and so forth. The QA results shall be used to provide timely feedback to the affected areas of survey operations to improve the quality of work. The IMS (specified in the Survey Management Plan/Schedule) shall be structured to help identify potential problems and to be proactive in responding to these problems.

The QA procedures will evolve (e.g., the QA for the 2027 surveys should be revised based on the experience gained during the 2026 survey cycles and so on). The procedures will also be reviewed during each survey cycle and revised as need arises and in response to NCSES requests. Results of the QA plan shall be reported in the Methodology Report for each survey cycle.

A Quality Control (QC) plan is also part of this task. The QC plan shall specify procedures the Contractor will use to ensure accuracy for all final products and deliverables including the microdata and metadata files, and shall designate the roles accountable for accuracy of a product, including the author, the reviewer, the QC checker, etc. QC procedures shall include “best practices” for web survey data collections and for all aspects of the survey process.

The Contractor shall monitor and evaluate QC results from each survey operation for early detection of possible problems and resolution, and assessment of the overall quality of survey operations. All QC results shall be well documented and shared with the COR on a weekly basis and included in the Methodology Report for each survey cycle.

The QA and QC plans shall be submitted to the COR within four weeks of the kick-off meeting for review and approval by the COR. After approval of the quality plans, the Contractor’s methods and procedures for quality (and general requirements for checking of work) shall be provided to each staff person on the project. Training in specific areas of quality as relevant to each task shall be provided to staff working on that task. The Contractor shall ensure that detailed QA and QC procedures are implemented and closely followed.

Security Plan

The contractor shall be responsible for protecting the HERD and FFRDC data, as required by the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, the Privacy Act of 1974, the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018, and other applicable laws. The Contractor shall also be subject to all federal (e.g., Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)), NSF, and NCSES policies on these matters, as specified by the NCSES Chief Statistician, regarding data collection, data storage and access, and data dissemination and analysis. These policies may change during the period of the contract.

The Contractor shall submit for review and approval by the COR, with input from the NCSES Chief Statistician a detailed plan for protecting the security of data at the contractor’s site and protecting the security of the data when transferring/delivering data.

The final version of the plan shall be submitted no later than two weeks after receiving COR comments.

Any revisions to the plans requested by NCSES shall be incorporated by the Contractor and sent to the COR within two weeks.

Task 2: Project Management

The Contractor must have a project management system that identifies potential problems early, ensures high-quality data and adherence to schedules, controls project costs, and maintains close communication with the COR. Project operations shall include frequent discussions with NCSES concerning progress and challenges, meetings to discuss and resolve problem areas, and regular reporting between the Contractor and COR.

The Contractor's project director for the HERD and FFRDC surveys shall be committed to this project for a majority of his/her time for the duration of the task order and shall have proven management and broad technical skills to handle this complex project.

The senior project manager, deputy project manager, senior statistician, senior programmer, and senior research methodologist are designated as key personnel for this task order. The senior project manager, senior statistician and senior research methodologist should have a Master’s degree or PhD with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience. The deputy project manager should have a Bachelor’s or higher degree with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience. The senior programmer should have a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.

The Contractor’s IMS website shall provide up-to-date information on tasks and deliverables. The IMS website shall be updated on an agreed upon schedule with the COR so that project reports and deliverables can be closely monitored by the COR; it is expected that during data collection, updates on the progress will be made daily.

The Contractor shall maintain up-to-date records of all activities performed throughout the contract.

These records shall form the basis for the HERD and FFRDC Methodology Reports and documentation for each survey cycle and shall provide sufficient depth and understanding of all project activities to meet the transparency requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and NCSES Information Quality and Transparency guidelines (see Appendix B).

NCSES’ standards, guidelines, and protocols related to computer processing, data file documentation, survey standards, release of data, quality control, media contacts and NSF publications shall be followed in the work conducted under this contract. NSF and NCSES standards, guidelines and protocols are included as appendices to the SOW; the Contractor shall be notified immediately of any changes to these documents.

All copies of material developed during the conduct of the surveys, including computer programming codes, documentation, data files, web files and documentation, etc., are to be transmitted to NCSES or disposed of in accordance with instructions from NCSES upon completion of work.

All deliverables, reports, and tables shall be delivered to NCSES in standard, NCSES approved formats and software, such as Microsoft Office Word or Excel. Unless specified otherwise, all deliverables, reports and tables shall be delivered to the COR in electronic format.

All tasks requiring computer processing work shall be conducted at the Contractor's secure computer facility, following the Federal Standards for Security (FIPS PUB 200) (see Appendix B).

All computer programs and data files such as those used in various stages of data collection, data processing and development of tabulations shall be fully documented. All computer software must be portable, that is, non-proprietary software capable of being transported to another Contractor.

The Contractor shall implement procedures to back up the data on a regular basis and have a process for fast, secure recovery of archived data.

The web survey must be capable of running on a variety of web browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, etc. with appropriate security procedures. In addition, the web survey and access must be transportable and compliant with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220).

All work conducted under this task order shall follow the applicable standards set forth in the statistical standards for the NCSES surveys (see Appendix B) which may change over the course of the contract.

Survey practices shall reflect state of the art survey research methodology, leading to improvement in data quality, timeliness, and cost efficiency.

Contractor staff shall be familiar with any relevant Statistical Policy Working Papers and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Standards and Guidance for Statistical Surveys (see Appendix B).

All tables and reports for NCSES publication or electronic dissemination on the NCSES website shall adhere to NCSES Publication Guidelines. The publication guidelines and a description of the NCSES review process are available in Appendix B; these may be updated by NSF/NCSES during the course of the contract. All tabulations shall be edited for consistency within and across tables.

The programming codes used to produce these tables shall be documented and preserved for future reference.

All task order materials shall be submitted in formats and software specified by the COR. To meet publication goals, NCSES will typically require at least two weeks for the initial review of a draft report by the COR. Several iterations of the product may be necessary before it is submitted into the NCSES review process. Once in the review process, the Contractor shall be responsible for making any required changes from the review. The NCSES publication review process may take 3-4 months depending upon the extent of revisions required. Appendix B contains the File Format Guidelines for NCSES Publications in the Manual of Editorial Style and Publication Standards.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communication technology (ICT), it shall be accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to people without disabilities.

Some examples of NCSES items that contain ICT are: Web survey data collection systems, InfoBriefs, special reports, white papers, PowerPoint slides, survey descriptions, technical notes, data tables, methodology reports, and copies of each year’s survey questionnaire (for posting on the NCSES website).

All products, platforms and services delivered as part of this statement of work that are ICT, or contain ICT, shall conform to the Revised 508 Standards, which are located at 36 C.F.R. §

1194.1 & Apps. A, C & D, and available at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines.

The contractor shall work towards full implementation of Section 508 standards and practices for items stated above and provide recommendations to the COR and other key staff to achieve and maintain compliance with these standards.

2.1. Communication and Reporting

2.1.1 Monthly Project Reporting

Beginning one month after the task order award, the Contractor shall provide monthly progress reports to the CO and COR by the 15th of each month. This report shall include documentation on progress of survey activities and expenditures identified by task and subtask, problems encountered, actions required, and expenditure analysis for the month. The Contractor shall finalize the monthly report format in consultation with the COR.

The monthly reports shall include details on the progress of the survey, a summary of problems encountered, early warning of potential problems and concerns, and actual hours and costs incurred.

The reporting period consists of the first full month of performance plus any fractional part of the initial month. Thereafter, the reporting period shall consist of each calendar month.

The monthly project reports should include:

Task by task progress completion status o Comparison and discussion of actual vs. planned (from last monthly report) activities by task o Activities occurring during current reporting period o Actual hours and costs incurred for reporting period o Problems encountered, actual vs. proposed solutions and schedule changes o Notification of any upcoming problems or challenges and proposed solutions o Planned activities for the next reporting period

Task by task financial reports o Comparison and discussion of actual vs. projected individual staff hours o Comparison and discussion of actual vs. projected costs o Forecasted staff hours and costs for next reporting period

The contractor shall provide monthly invoices to coincide with the timeframe of the monthly progress reports. In addition, special purpose time and cost reports may be requested by the COR during the contract.

2.1.2 Monthly Progress Meetings

Beginning one month after task order award, the Contractor shall meet with the COR and other NCSES staff in person or via teleconference on a monthly basis to discuss the progress of the project. The Contractor shall submit a draft agenda via email for all meetings at least two (2) business days before the meeting. The Contractor shall be responsible for taking notes at these monthly meetings and all other meetings that the Contractor attends with NCSES, and prepare a written summary for NCSES. The summary shall be delivered to the COR via email within one week of the meeting for NCSES approval. The Contractor shall revise the summary, if necessary, and return the revised summary to the COR within one (1) week.

2.1.3 Data Collection Status Reports

During data collection, the Contractor shall provide weekly reports to the COR on the status of various operations to monitor progress, particularly response rates. The Contractor shall produce the outline of the weekly reports for approval by the COR. However, at a minimum these reports should include: a description of all survey activities conducted, response rates, names of respondent and nonrespondent institutions, and comparison of the progress of the current survey cycle with that of the previous survey cycle (to the extent that such information is available).

2.1.4 Data Collection Monitoring and Site Visits

2.1.4.1 Information Management System (IMS)

No later than eight weeks after the task order award, the Contractor is required to establish an IMS, accessible by NCSES, for monitoring survey progress. The system shall provide the COR access to real time information that assists NCSES in managing the project and shall include but is not limited to the following information: name of the facility, a survey specific identification code of the facility, the name and contact information of the respondent, names and contacts for any other points of contact, status of completion of survey, their survey responses to date, and all correspondence to and from the facility. The COR may ask for additional variables, reports, or other features to be included as needed.

2.1.4.2 NCSES Visits to Contractor’s Site

NCSES staff will make on-site visits to the Contractor’s site to observe and monitor survey operations, including training, preparation of sample files, address lists, and printing and assembly of any mailing packages; receipt, edit, and keying of mail responses; conduct of any telephone interviews and scheduling; debriefing; coding; review of raw data files; etc. These on-site visits may occur once during the survey cycle with each visit lasting up to one day.

2.2. OMB Survey Clearance Support

During the period of this contract, clearance requests must be submitted to OMB for the FY 2028- 2030 survey cycles. The survey clearance package must be submitted to OMB by May 2028. In order to allow time for NCSES review and revisions, the draft OMB clearance packages will be due to NCSES by January 31, 2028. The Contractor shall prepare the OMB clearance package with significant input from NCSES (see Appendix B). The OMB clearance package shall include plans and proposed respondent burden hours for any methodological work, pilots, or pretests. The Contractor shall include the draft survey contact materials in the OMB clearance package. The format and content of the OMB clearance packages shall be specified and approved by the COR.

The final OMB clearance package shall be submitted by NSF and the Contractor shall assist the COR in addressing any questions from OMB.

As necessary, the Contractor shall prepare OMB generic clearance packages for methodological research activities conducted for the HERD and FFRDC surveys. The Contractor shall draft for NCSES review and approval and provide final copies of all materials for the generic clearance package, including, but not limited to: letter to OMB under the generic clearance for methodological research; prototype materials; scripts used to recruit respondents; interview or focus group protocols or guides; study plans; and data analysis plans.

In order to provide input for the OMB forms clearance and generic clearance packages, the Contractor shall collect and maintain information on the respondent burden for both the HERD and FFRDC surveys via periodic sampling of respondents and pre-testing of any new or expanded questions. Any proposed respondent contacts requesting burden information shall be submitted to the COR for advance approval.

Task 3: Conduct the FY 2026 Surveys

3.1 Population Review

Prior to the survey launch, a population review shall be conducted to identify newly eligible institutions for the surveys. For the FFRDC Survey, the Contractor shall review the current NSF Master List of FFRDCs to update the population as needed. For the HERD survey, the Contractor currently contacts all four-year and above institutions reporting non-zero R&D expenses in IPEDS who were not previously included in the HERD survey population. This population is approximately 270 institutions. These institutions are contacted on a two-year basis so that only half are contacted each year. The number of academic institutions contacted is estimated to be approximately 135 per year. If access to IPEDS is no longer available, the contractor shall propose a methodology for identifying newly eligible HERD institutions that ensures the project remains on schedule. The final qualification criteria for inclusion in the survey population review for the FY 2026 survey shall be discussed and agreed upon during the initial meeting (Task 1.1).

As necessary, the Contractor shall review and revise the screening instrument provided by NCSES (Appendix B). As necessary, the Contractor shall also review and revise the respondent contact materials provided by NCSES. The Contractor shall submit the revised package of questionnaire and survey contacts via email to the COR for review. Within two weeks of receipt of COR comments, the Contractor shall make final revisions to the screening instrument and contact materials. The Contractor shall conduct the screening via mail, email, and/or web.

Telephone follow-ups shall be used as needed to increase response. The screening shall request information from all institutions in the survey frame that have unknown R&D expenditures.

The Contractor shall construct a population review database to record the results of the screening. At a minimum, the Contractor shall add the following data variables for each institution to the database as applicable: institution name, IPEDS unit ID, highest degree granted, response to the screening survey, total research expenses reported in the most recent IPEDS Finance survey, R&D obligations to the institutions as reported in the most recent NCSES Federal S&E Support survey (FSS), contact name, title, address, telephone number, and email address.

The Contractor shall collect and report on the paradata for the screening operation including respondent comments, item nonresponse rates, and interviewer logs of conversations or other individualized communications with respondents. NCSES may ask for additional paradata to be collected.

The Contractor shall achieve a minimum 90% response rate to the direct screenings of institutions.

Weekly screening data collection progress reports shall be submitted to the COR via email.

These reports shall include a description of any problems encountered, attempted solutions, status of follow-up activities, response rates, and charts.

The contractor shall submit two invoices. The first invoice shall be submitted one month prior to the launch of the HERD survey. The second invoice shall be submitted when the contractor achieves the required 90% response rate for the population review.

3.2 Survey Instruments

The Contractor shall update and maintain the web, paper and Excel survey instruments for the 2026 survey cycle, beginning with the instruments used during the FY 2025 HERD and FFRDC R&D surveys. The structure and content of the survey instruments may change as the result of problems identified in previous survey cycles, methodological work conducted under this task order as well as NCSES investigations outside this contract.

No later than eight (8) weeks prior to the survey launch, the Contractor shall provide draft PDF versions of the FY 2026 HERD, HERD short form, and FFRDC R&D surveys. These drafts should incorporate any changes provided by the COR in addition to the necessary date changes.

No later than eight (8) weeks prior to the survey launch, the Contractor shall provide a fully functional web survey system to the COR for beta testing. The Contractor shall make all changes to the system requested by the COR following the COR’s beta test. The web survey site shall be ready for data collection no later than two weeks prior to survey launch. The Contractor shall notify the COR when the website is open and provide them with passwords and access to the website.

The web instrument should follow current best web design practices. It should allow for entering data in multiple sessions, ensure data are saved regularly, include built-in data edits, and be easy for respondents to understand and use. The system shall build in indicators of problems that respondents may be having so that the Contractor can respond proactively.

The Contractor shall provide adequate and secure computer resources to handle the web survey volume throughout the web survey phase to avoid any Internet connection interruptions and ensure timely completion of the data collection. The computer resources shall ensure data security and data integrity. The QA procedures shall include regular monitoring of the web survey data submissions to identify any Internet browser issues.

The Contractor shall continuously evaluate the HERD and FFRDC R&D web surveys and database software to make incremental changes. All such changes shall be discussed with the COR, described in writing, approved by the COR, and documented in the monthly report to NCSES. The Contractor shall not complete any modifications, enhancements, or revisions that result in an increase to the task order price/costs or perform any changes except as stated herein without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

Upon receipt of COR approval, the Contractor shall conduct a minimum of eight (8) remote web usability tests (using remote access software) to test any substantive software modifications to evaluate the effectiveness of the modifications before full implementation.

Upon receipt of COR approval, the Contractor shall proceed with any software modifications.

The Contractor shall update technical system documentation within 30 days of any change and provide to COR for review and approval.

The contractor shall submit two invoices. The first invoice shall be submitted when the final revised PDF versions of the questionnaires are accepted. The second invoice shall be submitted when the final revised web data collection instruments are accepted.

3.3 Data Collection and Processing

The Contractor shall update the HERD and FFRDC R&D survey contact protocols provided by NCSES as necessary and submit the revised package to the COR via email for review no later than six weeks prior to the survey launch date. Within two business days of receipt of COR comments, the Contractor shall make final revisions to the email package. The Contractor shall send the survey launch email to each institutional/FFRDC respondent notifying them of the survey and providing them with their institutional code, password and survey link. The Contractor shall email the packages to the survey participants no later than November 15 of each survey year (e.g. November 15, 2026 for the FY 2026 survey year).

For all variables collected on previous surveys, the Contractor shall allow institutions to view their responses for the previous 2 years as part of the FY 2026 data collection.

The Contractor shall provide technical support for the survey respondents. The current contractor provides support by toll-free telephone and e-mail assistance using highly trained and professional staff to promptly answer any respondent questions, beginning with the initial e-mail to the respondents prior to the start of the data collection. The technical support staffing level must be adjusted to adequately meet the call/e-mail demands throughout data collection by closely monitoring the contact volume and times. The Contractor shall document the reasons for contact and shall evaluate and use this documentation to modify future survey cycles. The documentation shall be of sufficient detail to understand any challenges that occurred related to reporting specific items, to identify respondent concerns, and to facilitate improvement in the surveys. The Contractor shall provide the COR with reports summarizing the contact history on a weekly basis and in summary at the end of the 2026 data collection.

The Contractor shall also set up a project email account to answer respondent questions as well for use for any follow-up questions, reminders, or other survey operations. All email inquiries shall be responded to within the next business day. As with phone call-ins mentioned above, email inquiries shall be recorded in the same way, and summaries provided to the COR on a weekly basis during the data collection.

The Contractor shall use the IMS created in task 2.1.4.1 to monitor the data, response status, relevant comments from respondents, and other relevant interactions with respondents. The COR shall be able to see the real time status of each respondent in the same survey format that the respondent uses. The Contractor shall ensure that all respondent- and staff-related comments are entered in the system. The monitoring system shall minimally include: the name of the institution, the survey specific identification code of the institution, IPEDS unit ID, the name and contact information of the respondent, status of completion of survey, their survey responses to date, and status of reminders to respondents. The COR may ask via email for additional variables, reports, or other features to be included as needed.

The Contractor shall achieve a minimum 95% response rate no later than April 30 of each survey year (e.g., April 30, 2027 for the FY 2026 survey year). Response rates are to be calculated using the American Association for Public Opinion Research standard definitions and the OMB recommended guidelines. See 2022 HERD Methodology Report for the response rate procedures used. The survey deadline may be extended to achieve this response rate with the concurrence of the COR. The COR will make the final decision regarding the closing date of data collection.

The Contractor shall store the final institutional/FFRDC submissions in a manner that easily permits retrieval for the next survey cycle and ultimately for transfer to the next survey contractor.

The Contractor shall begin data retrieval activities with respondents (e.g., conversations or email messages that ask respondents to provide missing data, to resolve data inconsistencies, etc., in order to improve data quality) no later than five weeks after the receipt of an institution’s response. All data retrieval for all respondents shall end within four weeks of the receipt of the last survey, unless otherwise approved by the COR.

The Contractor shall provide each institution electronically with their own survey data and a standard letter drafted by the Contractor and approved by NCSES thanking them for their participation and response within four weeks of completing data retrieval with the respondents.

The Contractor shall maintain complete, accurate documentation of all electronic data files and supporting software programs throughout…