ATTACHMENT A - Performance Work Statement.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

EDUCATION STATISTICS SUPPORT INSTITUTE NETWORK

I. BACKGROUND

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education has the following mission:

(1) to collect and analyze education information and statistics in a manner that meets the highest methodological standards; (2) to report education information and statistics in a timely manner; and (3) to collect, analyze, and report education information and statistics in a manner that: (A) is objective, secular, neutral, and non-ideological and is free of partisan political influence and racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias; and (B) is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public. P.L. 107-279, Part C, Sec. 151(b); H.R. 3801, Part C, Sec. 151(b), 2002.

As a federal statistical agency charged with providing our nation’s education information and statistics based on large-scale surveys, assessments, and other modes of data collection, NCES has the responsibility to report its findings accurately and in a timely manner. NCES supports a wide range of policy relevant data collection activities for many different types of data consumers and user groups. Changes in the nation’s policymakers’ conception of the importance of education and the role of data in educational improvement has required NCES to expand both the amount and types of information it collects, analyzes, and reports. Simultaneously, NCES is attempting to release data and statistics in a more timely manner.

The Education Statistics Support Institute Network (ESSIN) formed under this contract will conduct work solely for NCES. No group other than NCES will award Task Orders under this contract. To meet its responsibilities efficiently, NCES contracts for specialized statistical support. Currently, support is provided through two contracts establishing the Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI) and the NAEP Education Statistics Services Institute (NESSI). The ESSI and NESSI contracts end December 31, 2011, and it is the intention of NCES to replace the statistical support contracts with the ESSIN. The ESSIN will be established under this solicitation as a Multiple Award, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Task Order Contract with all work being issued through fixed price or cost reimbursement task orders.

The ESSIN will be comprised of large and small businesses that fall under two groups, Group A and Group B. Approximately 25 task orders will be issued annually. At this time, NCES plans on awarding up to 16 task orders to the selected contractors that form the ESSIN. The remaining ten tasks orders will be competed among the ESSIN Fall 2011.

ESSIN contractors will be able to bid competitively for task orders on support tasks, varying in nature and scope, to provide a range of assistance and expert advice to support NCES’s national and international data collections and assessments, analyses, methodological research, statistical product preparation, and training programs. The task order work to be performed by the ESSIN contractors will be defined in a performance work statement which will describe the work to be performed, deliverables, and schedules.

The ESSIN will enable NCES to continue its effort to respond to the government-wide requirements for greater accountability in contract management effectively and efficiently.

II. OVERVIEW OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED

As the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Education, NCES’s work is wide-ranging and often complex and long term, with data collections and analyses often extending over many years and recurring on a periodic basis. NCES contracts separately for each of its large collections, and that work is not part of this procurement. This procurement to establish the Education Statistics Support Institute Network will provide NCES the technical assistance and expert advice it requires to support its national and international data collections and assessments, analyses, methodological research, statistical product preparation, and training programs. The ESSI Network will also assist NCES in responding to the changing needs of data users, adapting rapidly to changing priorities and policy foci, and incorporating the latest scientific advances in how statistical and assessment studies are designed, fielded, analyzed, and reported. It will serve to streamline the production and extend the expertise needed to improve the timely release of high-quality data and analyses.

During the 60-month period of performance, (January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2016) NCES anticipates the need for contractors to carry out a wide variety of activities, some of which are represented in the projects proposed (see Attachment A-1). The work of the ESSIN falls into the four broad project categories described below. The individual tasks may require more than one or a combination of all four types of work to be performed.

1. Statistical methodology research Statistical methodology work will support the continuous improvement of the conduct of NCES data collections, the processing of data, the preparation of data files, and the analysis of data from those collections. Priority is placed on methodological work and related theoretical underpinnings that are relevant to both the state of the field and to the particular needs of education statistics and assessment.

Examples of statistical methodology work include:

· Development of innovative approaches to data collection, particularly as is related to assessment and survey response issues including computer-administered testing, adaptive testing, and interactive computer tasks, as well as developments in existing approaches that can improve them;

· Methodological and statistical research in the area of measuring data quality with the goal of overall improvement;

· Identification and application of statistical and/or psychometric methods used in other disciplines (e.g., psychology, economics) that may be capable of addressing statistical problems posed by NCES projects; and

· Methodological, psychometric, and statistical research into extensions and modifications of existing techniques to improve measurement and analysis.

2. Analyses and reporting Such work will include both the most commonly used and advanced statistical procedures to guide studies and ensure that these studies are designed in such a way as to provide valid and reliable results, and that data collected are recorded and reported systematically and objectively. Task orders may include original analyses and reporting, or input to NCES on the analyses and reports prepared by third-party contractors. Statistical analysis activities will employ the most commonly accepted statistical procedures in accordance with OMB Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/inforeg/statpolicy/standards_stat_surveys.pdf) and NCES Statistical Standards (http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/2002/stdtoc.asp). The focus will be primarily on analysis and report writing, ongoing monitoring of key aspects of data quality in NCES data collections, reporting on data quality and timeliness across NCES data collections, and examining alternative report designs and user services that are best suited for the full range of audiences for education statistics.

Examples of statistical analyses and reporting work include:

· Provision of specialized reports and data tabulations adapted to the needs of data users;

· Analyses of topical issues, including report-writing using advanced statistical methods;

· Cross-cutting data analyses and reports based on multiple data collections;

· Ongoing monitoring and reporting of data quality and timeliness across NCES data collections;

· Ongoing monitoring of coding and scoring procedures that are applied to NCES collected assessment and survey data. Evaluation and analyses of technology-enabled systems for coding and scoring surveys such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other NCES assessments;

· Analyses of the ongoing viability of trends in long-term data collections;

· Advice on advanced correlational and multivariate statistics, and on psychometric analysis;

· Report design and evaluation of user needs;

· Development of quick turnaround facts reports, fact sheets, and tabulations;

· Development, adaptation and application of effective user-friendly techniques and products for presenting and disseminating statistical data and analyses; and

· Training and development of training materials and techniques for analysts interested in using the agency’s data.

3. Development Such work will have as primary objectives to (1) focus on identifying education data needs, based on a comprehensive understanding of education issues and trends (both domestic and international and across all sectors of education); (2) identify appropriate information sources and technologies for addressing education data needs; and (3) design or adapt improved data collection and assessment instruments, including computer administered cognitive tests (such as NAEP), and statistical procedures, including item analysis using both classical and item Response theory (IRT).

Examples of development work include:

· Ongoing monitoring of emerging educational policy priorities and trends;

· Ongoing monitoring of findings from research in education and related fields that bear on measures for, or reporting of, national statistics;

· Ongoing identification of the audiences for education statistics and their respective needs, including identification of new audiences and needs for new analyses and reports;

· Development of common definitions for data elements used in cross-national analyses and the development of procedures for sampling design and measurement to significantly improve upon the reliability of international comparisons;

· Analyses of the effects that new technologies and methods of data collection have on the operations and costs of fielding surveys, including analyses that provide cost estimates for different configurations (e.g., over-sampling specific subgroups and/or special populations, testing in various subject matter areas, surveying at various grade levels, or assessing special populations) for a particular survey or program of surveys;

· Development and maintenance of a comprehensive electronic catalog of survey variables and items, their previous uses, and justifications for inclusion;

· Development and testing of new survey and assessment items (e.g., in the area of education finance and student assessment, respectively);

· Development, review, testing, and analysis of cognitive and background questions;

· Determination of the feasibility and cost of collecting new data based on pilot studies that field-test new approaches;

· Development, validation, and evaluation of new measures of student performance, school quality, and teacher effectiveness;

· Development and implementation of quality control measures and procedures to ensure the accuracy of data collection instruments including assessments and surveys;

· Development and testing of protocols for gathering observations and accounts of activities and time use of students and teachers;

· Development and testing of new technologies for content analysis of school- and student-generated materials;

· Development of automated data collection from administrative record systems within school districts and other agencies;

· Development of an NCES strategy for working with state and local education agencies to establish data standards, and for building the capacity for automated use and access to data;

· Development and testing of new approaches to determining the alignment of assessments and standards;

· Analyses of the performance of survey items based on criteria such as a measure’s ability to capture a significant range of variation and its predictive validity for important outcome variables;

· Development of technological applications that may improve or affect the management and operations of education data collection;

· Development and testing of computer network technology that allows for rapid dissemination of statistical reports and information;

· Support for upgrading the requirements for computer hardware, requirements for software compatibility, protocols for communications and file sharing, and conventions for file structure and data definitions which allow for ready access and sharing of data with users; and

· Development of a support system and provision of technical assistance to provide training and information for school and district personnel who want to electronically access data (in either administrative or classroom settings), conduct analyses, and share data with other users.

· Development of new course content and modes of training and provide technical assistance to provide training to external researchers using NCES data.

· Development of new dissemination formats and analysis tools to improve access and increase the utility of NCES data.

4. Project support Such work will include technical support for NCES’s operations to plan, implement, and monitor data collection activities and to disseminate NCES data products. Work will be characterized by a comprehensive response to central data requirements, both current and anticipated; continuity, where appropriate, to permit analyses across surveys; cost effectiveness; timeliness; and reasonableness of respondent burden.

Examples of project management work include:

· Assistance in designing new or revised surveys, assessments, and other projects;

· Assistance in developing analysis and dissemination plans for new surveys and other projects;

· Assistance in the electronic display and dissemination of NCES products;

· Review of draft products to ensure that they are easily understood and meet NCES’s Statistical Standards, tabular guidelines, and the IES Style Guide (http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/2002/stdtoc.asp; http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/styleguide/pdf/styleguide.pdf);

· Review of draft statistical tables, graphics, and analyses for adequacy of statistical measurement and comprehensiveness of reporting to ensure a consistent quality across NCES reports according to the requirements of each program;

· Development of cost estimates and projections across future years for alternate questionnaire design or sampling design strategies; and

Contractors shall exercise such management and oversight as is necessary to ensure work is done on time, efficiently, and in accordance with established standards.

III. STRUCTURE OF THE ESSI NETWORK

The nature and scope of the work will vary from task order to task order, as will the requirements for contractors. This solicitation will result in awards to two sets of contractors, Group A and Group B. Group A is open to both large and small business contractors, which will both include individual contractors and or contracting teams. Group B will consist only of contractors identified as Small Business contractors. Individual task orders will be offered either as Category A—Full and Open Competition or as Category B—Small Business Set Aside. Contractors winning awards in the first round of competition will join ESSIN as members of Group A or Group B based on their status in the Central Contractors Register (CCR).

Small Business contractors may bid as the prime contractor on individual tasks in either category (i.e., A or B). Although contractors in Group A may not bid as the prime contractor on individual tasks in Category B, they may be bid as subcontractors for up to 49 percent of any Category B task. Conversely, a contractor in Group B may be bid as a subcontractor on work in Category A. Bidding as the prime contractor or being bid as a subcontractor on an individual task in one category does not preclude participation in a bid in the other category on a different task.

Task Orders awarded to contractors in Group B will be issued under a Small Business set aside. The group of accepted Small Business contractors will include those with the approved small business certification.

All businesses that want to do business with the Federal Government must register in the CCR. Businesses register in CCR for the types of work they can do by NAICS code. The NAICS code gives a business size or dollar limitation for that type of work. The applicable NAICS codes are the following:

A select group of qualified contractors for Groups A and B will be identified from the Technical and Business proposals submitted in response to the PWS in Attachment A-1. The Proposal Evaluation Criteria will be used to evaluate and rate the responses submitted. Once identified, the group of qualified contractors for Groups A and B will collectively form the ESSI Network (ESSIN). The ESSIN will receive another set of Performance Work Statements (PWS) late summer/earlyfall 2011 for ESSIN contractors to develop Technical and Business proposals. ESSIN contractors will again compete against each other for this work. ESSIN contractors will be encouraged to team with others, both ESSIN and non-ESSIN contractors, to develop Technical and Business proposals in response to the PWS. An overview of the process follows:

Step 1: Responding to Performance Work Statements (PWS) & Selecting the ESSI Network In responding to an individual PWS in this solicitation, potential offerors must select the Group in which they are capable of working and wish to bid as a prime contractor. Small Business contractors may bid as the prime contractor on individual PWS in either category (i.e., A or B).

If an Offeror is eligible to bid as a prime contractor in both Groups, the offeror must select the Group in which it wants to be considered as a prime contractor for a specific task order and respond by submitting Technical and Business proposals for that PWS.

PWS for work that will begin January 1, 2012 have been developed for Group A and Group B. The PWS are found in Attachment A-1. Offerors for Group A must include in their response to this solicitation Technical and Business proposals for each PWS for which they want to be considered for conducting work. Offerors for Group B must include in their response, competitive Technical and Business proposals for each PWS for which they want to be considered for conducting work. Although contractors in Group A may not bid as the prime contractor on individual PWS in Category B, they may be bid as subcontractors for up to 49 percent of any Category B PWS. Conversely, a contractor in Group B may be bid as a subcontractor on task orders in Category A. Bidding as the prime contractor or being bid as a subcontractor on an individual PWS in one category does not preclude participation in a bid in the other category on a different PWS. Each offeror may bid on as many, or as few, as they choose of the individual PWS for which they are eligible and possess the required capabilities.

Step 2: Awarding Additional Task Orders Late summer/early fall 2011 the remaining base-year PWS will be competed among the ESSIN contractors in Groups A and B. ESSIN contractors will submit Technical and Business proposals, again for each PWS for which they are eligible and want to be considered for conducting work.

The Government seeks competition in the responses to the individual PWS, but offerors may join together and submit a combined response to an individual PWS. Offerors are encouraged to read Section VII, Nature of Contractors, #2, Teaming/Subcontracting. There will be instances in which a single contracting group does not possess the total expertise necessary to easily respond to all of the anticipated requests for task work or subtask work within a task; therefore proposed efforts by a contractor to team/subcontract will be viewed as a positive response to addressing the work needs, where appropriate. Offerors are encouraged to team with both ESSIN and non-ESSIN contractors. Subcontractors and consultants may be added at a later time, with the permission of the COR and the Contracting Officer (CO).

IV. TYPE OF CONTRACT WORK

Task orders issued under this multiple award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract will be awarded either as Fixed Price or Cost Reimbursement.

V. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for the ESSI Network shall be for 60 months, beginning January 1, 2012. The Government anticipates awarding new tasks annually and perhaps more frequently, throughout the contract period.

Task awards may be for any duration up to two years, subject to availability of funds, but are expected to be of one-year duration for the most part. PWS will be awarded for an initial base period during the first year of the contract, with annual options for years two through five (2 - 5), if exercised.

The Government anticipates an Optional renewal period for up to 60-months, January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2021.

VI. ADHERENCE TO STANDARDS

All contractors shall follow the OMB Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Surveys (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/inforeg/statpolicy/standards_stat_surveys.pdf; NCES Statistical Standards (http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/2002/stdtoc.asp); IES Style Guide (available in draft) http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/styleguide/pdf/styleguide.pdf; the Government Printing Office’s Attributes Program for Printing and Binding http://www.gpo.gov/asforms/index.html; and the NCES Guidelines, Standards and Procedures for Web Publishing as updated on the web.

NCES is firmly committed to determining how well each project meets its goals, the quality of data collected, and its implications for future projects. Project quality control shall be integrated into every phase of the project. For instance, potential problems should be identified early so that possible solutions are tested as part of a data collection’s field test. Item reliability and validity tests must be built into the data collection efforts, non-response bias analyses should be conducted as part of the final weighting process, and survey methodology and sample design effects should be made available to all data users. Thus, statistical quality control shall be incorporated into each project stage as appropriate.

In addition, the contractor shall adhere to all printing or publication standards of NCES, including the requirement for final NCES and/or Institute of Education Sciences (IES) review and approval of reports before they can be published. The contractor shall use Microsoft Office Suite products or Microsoft compatible software including Word, Excel, Access, SQL, etc. for text documents, tables, and figures. The method or media for delivery will be specified in the task orders. Text documents shall be delivered in manipulable formats unless otherwise requested. Guidelines for software and formatting specifications of such deliverables are available in the NCES statistical standards, IES style guide, and IES web standards.

When programming and or source code is used to develop a deliverable, the contractor will be required to provide the annotated code when the deliverable is submitted to and accepted by the Government. All intermediate and final products and supporting programming and or source code generated by work under awarded tasks are the property of the Government, and must be provided to the Government upon request. Analyses and data developed under this contract by contractors, subcontractors, and or their partners cannot be released without written NCES approval. Contractors, subcontractors, and or their partners may not use pre-release or restricted-use data provided under this contract for any purpose not specified in the contract without written permission from the COR and Task Leader.

VII. NATURE OF CONTRACTORS

The ESSIN contractors selected to provide support services shall have a special relationship with NCES beyond that which is common to normal contractual relationships. The selected contractors shall operate within an organizational structure that ensures the contractor staff’s independence from conflicting assignments, and dedication, and responsiveness to NCES’s work requirements. It is of paramount importance that the selected contractors operate in the public interest with objectivity. The selected contractors and their employees and agents shall be free from real and apparent conflicts of interest, financial and otherwise. To achieve these characteristics, the selected contractors must meet the following requirements regarding structural autonomy, personnel policies, and access to NCES data.

1. Structural Autonomy Staff of selected contractors shall operate within their employer organizations with sufficient operational separation and autonomy to ensure that their work is independent, objective, and unbiased. Specifically, selected contractors must provide ESSI Network staff sufficient separation from other staff and work to assure that the ESSI Network work is free from potential conflicts of interest or other sources of bias. These safeguards must extend to accessibility to and protection of hardware and software, hardcopy material, and any other physical or intellectual features that, if accessed by staff not assigned to the ESSI Network, could have actual or perceived affects on independence, objectivity, or bias.

2. Teaming/Subcontracting Based upon the particular requirements and needs described in this Performance Work Statement, the contractor shall provide or maintain a network of professional consultants and/or identify appropriately qualified experts with whom the contractor may team or subcontract to provide services on a relatively rapid basis as specified by each individual order. Historically a great deal of the work has been performed by multiple contractors working in close collaboration. The ability and willingness to collaborate across several contractors is an essential part of the work under this contract.

3. Access to NCES Data NCES will provide the contractors with all data, published or unpublished, that shall be required for the projects undertaken. The contractor shall request such data in writing and shall assure that approved restricted use data licensing agreements are in place (see http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/rudman/). Contractors and or subcontractors shall not share any data without direct NCES approval. The COR will review and approve all such requests, subject to approval from the IES Data Security Program in the NCES Statistical Standards Program (SSP).. Each contractor employee with access to personally identifiable data from NCES data collections must obtain a level 5 or 5C security clearance per the requirements in Departmental Directive OM:5-101 (http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/acsom5101.pdf).

4. Facilities, Equipment and Place of Performance Contractors shall have office space within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for employees who will interact with NCES on a regular (if not daily) basis. The ESSI Network facilities must provide a secure environment for working with and maintaining confidential data files and other related work. NCES data must be used and maintained on machines that are not networked into a company’s general network; work must be done in a physical space that allows access only by staff with appropriate clearance and independent from other work that would raise conflict of interest issues; must have sufficient secure storage and restricted access of hours. Contractors with access to restricted use data prior to approval by the IES Disclosure Review Board must have their computer system go through the Department of Education approved certification and accreditation (C&A) process. The contractor’s overall facilities shall include sufficient information processing equipment, software, telecommunication access, and storage to conduct basic development and research work as described in the Overview of Work to Be Performed (Section II). The equipment shall include microcomputers, modems suitable for working on mainframe computer facilities, laser printers, and graphics capability. Contractors shall have available FAX and scanning equipment to facilitate communication with NCES. This will ensure rapid transmission of needed information.

Portions of the contractor’s staff located elsewhere, but who have responsibility for supporting task work, shall be linked electronically to their Washington, D.C. location so that the remote location of staff is as transparent as possible. Staff who work in remote offices will need their computer system firewalled from the parent company networks. All restricted use data must be transmitted to remote locations using encrypted data and via an NCES secure server. NCES will make available to the contractor temporary working space at the NCES facility when specific projects require this (e.g., supporting NCES license application system, hard coding transcripts and other open ended survey items and confidential documents, collaboration with NCES staff, working with extensive files that would be costly to duplicate or move).

VIII. START UP

The Government anticipates the first day of work to be January 1, 2012. Unless otherwise specified, on January 1, 2012, the contractor should be prepared to carry out the project work described in Performance Work Statements issued under the Task Orders (TOs).

The Government may decide to hold a one-day Orientation meeting in the Fall of 2011, after the initial task awards that form the ESSIN have been made. Each ESSIN contractor will identify two members of the leadership team for each task awarded to attend the Orientation meeting. The meeting will be held at the NCES offices in Washington, DC. ED expects all contractor staff to be fully trained and ready to start work January 1, 2012; thus, the meeting will provide an Orientation to NCES’ Statistical Standards, with the expectation that the task leaders will be responsible for conveying this information to their staff members. In addition, the contractor staff who require security clearances need to complete the electronic e-QIP application, submit the signature page, other required forms, and fingerprint cards to the NCES Security Program within one (1) day of starting work (this is most contractor staff). To facilitate this process, NCES Security staff will provide an orientation on the e-QIP system. The leadership team selected for each task will also have an initial orientation meeting with the NCES Task Leader and Project Director. All proposals should include an option that includes the cost of two leadership staff members attending this 8-hour Orientation meeting for each task for which a proposal is submitted.

The Government may decide to exercise an Optional Task and implement a transition period for certain tasks, if funding permits. The transition period would allow the current contractor to conduct information sessions with new ESSIN contractors to support a smooth transfer and or handoff of contract work that must begin on January 1, 2012. The transition period, if implemented, would not affect the contract periodicity detailed in section V. If a transition period is necessary, the Period of Performance will be December 5-16, 2011. No other start-up costs are anticipated to support work under this contract. A list of tasks and the number of hours required during the transition period of performance follows.

1-2012 Statistical Standards Program Support (1)

4-2012 Elementary and Secondary Longitudinal Studies Support

· 12 hours to learn the data review process, the OMB review process

· 3 hours to learn how we train data users

· 3 hours to learn how we run reports

· 3 hours for questions and troubleshooting This will require one NCES project officer, one ESSI employee, the new Task Leader for HSLS, and at least 1 other contractor staff member who will work on the HSLS support team

4 hours overview for where SASS, TFS, PFS, and BTLS stand as of December

1.5 hours for meeting with Census to go over their schedules as of December

8 hours for NCES processes on reports, OMB clearance, previous technical documentation 3 hours – user training 3 hours – running reports

2.5 hours – NCES website, organizational processes, Statistical Standards, web and publication standards 4 hours – Q & A

7-2012 Annual Reports Program Support, Analysis

General Management [16 hours] The overall team leader and subtask leaders shall have a general meeting with NCES to exchange information on the context of Annual Reports work. The overall task leader shall develop responses to NCES inquiries on general operating procedures, such as how deliverables will be transmitted, quality control assurance, coordination of desktopping activities, etc..

Digest of Education Statistics [5 hours] The contractor leader for the Digest of Education Statistics shall meet with the NCES project director to discuss the current status of the 2011 edition. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner. The contractor develops a plan for the transition of the work in progress on January 1 to the new contractor, with specific emphasis on maintaining the current time line. The contractor shall read the all the comments that will have been made during the prior portions of the review process.

Condition of Education [5 hours] The contractor leader for the Condition of Education shall meet with the NCES project director to discuss the status of the 2012 edition. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner. The contractor develops a plan for the transition of the work in progress on January 1 to the new contractor, with specific emphasis on maintaining the current time line. The contractor shall read the all the comments that will have been made during the prior portions of the review process.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety [4 hours] The contractor shall meet with the NCES project director to discuss general analytic plans and outline for the 2012 edition. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner.

Special Studies [10 hours] The contractor leaders for the various activities shall meet with the appropriate NCES staff to obtain a briefing on status of ongoing projects and approximate time lines required by NCES. The specific activity areas that will require meetings include: 1) International activities; 2) America’s Children; 3) Education Dashboard and other web sites; 4) Indicator reports; and 5) special projects, including Statistical Abstract, literature reviews, allocations, specialized programming and other analyses. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner.

8-2012 Annual Reports Program Production

General Management [3 hours] The contractor team leader shall have a general meeting with NCES to exchange information on the context of Annual Reports work. The overall task leader shall develop responses to NCES inquiries on general operating procedures, such as how deliverables will be transmitted, quality control assurance, coordination of desktopping activities, etc..

Digest of Education Statistics [3 hours] The contractor leader for the Digest of Education Statistics desktopping shall meet with the NCES project director to discuss the current status of the 2011 edition. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner. The contractor develops a plan for the transition of the desktopping work in progress on January 1 to the new contractor, with specific emphasis on maintaining the current time line.

Condition of Education [3 hours] The contractor leader for the Condition of Education desktopping shall meet with the NCES project director to discuss the status of the 2012 edition. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner. The contractor develops a plan for the transition of the desktopping work in progress on January 1 to the new contractor, with specific emphasis on maintaining the current time line.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety [1 hours] The contractor team leader shall meet with the NCES project director to discuss the time line for the 2012 edition. This meeting shall be conducted in conjunction with the meeting under activity 1. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner.

Special Studies [4 hours] The contractor team leader and appropriate desktopping staff shall meet with the appropriate NCES staff to obtain a briefing on status of ongoing projects and approximate time lines required by NCES. The specific activity areas that will require briefings include: 1) Projections of Education Statistics; and 2) Indicator reports. The contractor shall receive copies of relevant files and take steps to ensure that they are accessible to proposed contractor staff in an efficient manner.

12-2012 Support for Early Childhood and Household Studies Program

8 hours of the contractor’s task leader time to coordinate transition of files to key staff on the ESSIN contract.

32 hours of senior analyst hours to familiarize themselves with the latest draft of ECLS-K:2011 data files, documentation, and initial report and to familiarize themselves with NHES:2012 data file preparation materials.

14-2012 Assessment Division Support

15-2012 Assessment Division Support (2)

IX. GENERAL MANAGEMENT

Each contractor and or its organization shall exercise such management control as is necessary to ensure task order work is done on time, efficiently, and in accordance with established standards. General task management shall include, but not be limited to, the following activities: (1) personnel recruitment, evaluation, and oversight; (2) work assignment and oversight of progress and quality of work; (3) adherence to schedule and quality standards; (4) monitoring and oversight of contract budget; (5) communication on a frequent basis with the COR and the COR’s designees regarding the specific projects awarded to each selected contractor; (6) reporting functions; and (7) contract administration to ensure compliance with its terms and conditions.

1. Annual Plan Each year NCES will develop an Annual Plan consisting of Performance Work Statements for the ESSIN contractors in Groups A and B to bid on. The work will be divided into two categories. Category A will include task orders that can be bid upon by the contractors pre-selected for Group A and Group B.

Category B will consist of Small Business set aside work. Only contractors pre-selected for Group B with the approved Small Business identification can bid upon task orders in this category.

For the initial year (i.e., base year) of the contract, ESSIN contractors will respond to the PWS for 2012 previously described in Section III, Structure of the ESSIN, Steps 1 and Step 2. For the second through fifth contract years, no later than three (3) months before the end of each year the contractor shall receive PWS for work to be performed in the succeeding period. The contractor shall prepare competitive Technical and Business proposals responsive to these PWS. It is estimated that each year there will be 15-25 PWS for which contractors will prepare and submit proposals. The contractor’s proposals shall include schedules, descriptions of major deliverables, staff loading charts and staffing plans, line item budgets, and such other information as shall be requested. Once the Annual Work Plan is agreed upon, an award of funds will be made and the contractors will commence work. This schedule does not preclude the Government from issuing additional PWS during any year of the contract. All eligible ESSIN contractors will be notified when ESSIN PWS are issued.

Work requirements in each Annual Work Plan may call for changes in staffing arrangements. The contractor shall be flexible in both the numbers and types of staff members to be employed each year and the work assigned to these individuals. Additionally, during the contract year, the Government may decide to modify the current contract. The modification may result in a change of staff. The contractor must be flexible and able to meet the staffing needs as a result of the modification.

It is expected that many of the projects will be ongoing. Similar or new work will continue under new Task Orders awarded in ensuing years. If an ongoing or similar task order is awarded to a different contractor in a subsequent year, the prior year’s contractor will cooperate in the transition of knowledge and materials if requested by the COR through a transition task. For certain tasks, it will be essential that work is coordinated among several contractors. Teaming and subcontracting efforts will be viewed as a positive response to addressing the work identified in the PWS when it supports the overarching goals of timely, high-quality products, and when it can be executed in a cost-effective manner.

2. Monthly Reports The Contractors in both Group A and Group B shall submit monthly reports on or before the 10th of each month. The monthly reports are to be submitted via paper and electronic transmission. The monthly report shall be submitted to the project Task Leader and Project Director with a copy to the COR and the specified Contracting Specialist.

The report shall include the following:

(a) The progress on each task and activity relative to the schedule and a discussion of discrepancies;

(b) Accomplishments associated with each task and activity for the month;

(c) Problems that have been resolved or are in need of resolution;

(d) A discussion of the work to be performed during the next monthly reporting period;

(e) The number of hours expended by all contractor staff by staff person;

(f) The number of hours expended by all subcontractor staff by person;

(g) Brief description of the work performed by each subcontractor during the month;

(h) Funding expended by major category, including staff, travel, consultant, subcontractors, and other costs, including obligated costs of subcontractors; and

(i) Expected future technical and budgetary problems and proposed solutions to these.

X. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS

Contractors shall establish a performance measurement system that shall support the project management function through a series of interrelated activities that include:

· Development and use of detailed production schedules that define and organize contract work;

· Use of contractor management control systems that facilitate performance measurement within the work breakdown structure; and

· Use of a reporting system to report contract status.

XI. CONFIDENTIALITY, SECURITY, IT, WEBSITE, & OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Overview of IES Confidentiality Statute

Confidentiality of Individuals and Institutions NCES assures participating individuals and institutions that any data collected conforms to the IES standards for protecting the confidentiality of individuals as required by Section 183 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-279):

“. . . all collection, maintenance, use, and wide dissemination of data by the Institute, including each office, board, committee, and Center of the Institute, shall conform with the requirements of section 552A of Title 5, United States Code, the confidentiality standards of subsection (c) of this section, and sections 444 and 445 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, 1232h).”

Under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002), all personally identifiable information about students, their families, and their schools shall remain confidential. To this end, this law requires that no person may:

· Use any individually identifiable information furnished under the provisions of this section for any purpose other than statistical purposes for which it is supplied, except in the case of terrorism;

· Make any publication whereby the data furnished by any particular person under this section can be identified; or

· Permit anyone other than the individuals authorized by the Commissioner to examine individual reports.

Further, individually identifiable information is immune from legal process, and shall not, without the consent of the individual concerned, be admitted as evidence or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial or administrative proceeding, except in the case of terrorism.