H98210-14-R-0017-0001.doc

SECTION SF 30 BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

SECTION SF 30 - BLOCK 14 CONTINUATION PAGE

The following have been added by full text:

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Vendor Questions and Answers for JAMRS Survey Services and Market Research (Solicitation H98210-14-R-0017) – July 9, 2014:

Question 1: Has a contractor performed similar work to this for the government in the past?

If available, please provide the incumbent contract number.

Answer 1: Yes, contract H98210-12-D-0002.

Question 2: Sample Task: Can you please provide the most recent version of the questionnaires for the youth survey and for the paired parent survey? If not, can you provide:

a. Page length for each survey?

Answer 2a: JAMRS has no pre-defined required length for either questionnaire; however, for reference, recent Youth Polls have varied from roughly 60 – 75 survey items printed on 8 pages. The Paired Parent survey is often of similar length and printed on 8 pages.

b. # of open-ended questions for each survey?

Answer 2b: Again, while this is not necessarily constant from one survey to the next, recent Youth Polls and Paired Parent surveys have had about 4 to 5 open-ended questions (including questions where a write-in option was provided in addition to the survey response options).

Question 3: Sample Task: If there are open-ended questions for each survey, does a code frame already exist for these questions that will be available to contractors?

Answer 3: Code frames for open-ended questions would need to be developed by the Contractor. JAMRS will work with the Contractor to develop codes, but the Contractor should not expect a pre-existing set of codes to be provided. Furthermore, new open-ended question may be added and removed throughout the life of the contract.

Question 4: Sample Task: Please provide the response rate for the youth survey and for the paired parent survey?

Answer 4: From survey to survey and year to year, the response rate varies for both surveys. Over the last several years, the response rate among these two surveys have varied from roughly 15% to roughly 20%.

Question 5: Demonstration Test: Specifications define the deliverable as a ten-slide briefing deck (p. 57). The Instructions to Offerors (p.23) say that the Demonstration Test response should be no longer than 20 pages. Is the 20 page response separate from the 10 slide briefing deck? If so, can you specify what information should be included in the Test response?

Answer 5: The 20 page limit in The Instructions to Offerors refers to all questions 1-4 within the Demonstration Test, including the briefing deck referred to in question 4 of the Demonstration Test.

Question 6: Demonstration Test: Can you provide additional details on the design used for the Demonstration Test? How are the strata defined? Is the sample a general population sample for the relevant age groups, or has it already been filtered so that it only contains, for instance, only those youth who have a parent who served in the military (since that variable, missing from the dataset, might be expected to be an important predictor of propensity to enlist)?

Answer 6: The Demonstration Test data is based on data from a Youth Poll dataset where strata were defined by cross-classifying the stratification variables state and age group. The frame and sample from which this data originated is a general population sample for the relevant age groups; however, for this exercise some of the data has been manipulated so offerors should not assume the demonstration data is an accurate representative sample of 16-24 year olds. The vast majority of variables (including those that may be strong predictors of propensity) were dropped, many cases were removed, and some error was introduced into the original data collected to create a fake dataset. The purpose of this exercise is simply to demonstrate how you would analyze survey data with design effects (i.e., stratification and weighting) originating from a complex sampling approach and weighted to be representative of a population of interest. The data is not meant to be a true to life/accurate representation of the data or variables collected in the Youth Poll.

Question 7: Sample Task: Does the questionnaire include any requirements on font size, structure, or formatting? If so, what are those?

Answer 7: JAMRS has no formal specifications regarding font, structure or formatting for the questionnaire.

Question 8: Sample Task - What is the source of the sampling frame? How clean is the sample frame?

Answer 8: JAMRS provides the sampling frame. The frame is compiled from multiple governmental and commercial list that together provide contact information for roughly 95% of non-institutionalized, English-speaking youth ages 16 to 24 living in the 50 US states or Washington, DC who had never been in the Military. All samples drawn from the frame will need to undergo some cleaning including address checks and running the sample through a suppression file which JAMRS will also provide.

Question 9: Sample Task - What information is contained in the sample frame?

Answer 9: The frame contains names, addresses, age, and gender.

Question 10: Sample Task - Is the Paired Parent Poll questionnaire traditionally mailed in the same envelope as the Youth Poll questionnaire? Or is the Paired Parent Poll questionnaire mailed to select parents only after the completed questionnaire from their child has been received?

Answer 10: In previous years, the Paired Parent Poll has been mailed separately after completed questionnaires from their child have been received. However, JAMRS is open to considering alternative methodologies if they are accompanied by sound rationale.

Question 11: Sample Task - How many steps (e.g. prenotification, reminders, etc.) are entailed in the mailing process of the Youth Poll?

Answer 11: JAMRS does not require a pre-determined number of steps; we are open to proposals regarding what the Contractor believes is the most effective and efficient mailing approach.

Question 12: Paragraph 4.2 states, “Provide research design, data processing, and results presentation of online, mail or telephone surveys of youth and adult influencers of youth such as:”. Recent opinion research studies have argued that telephone surveys of 15-24 year-olds is becoming increasingly difficult because of the declining usage of landlines and increased usage of cell phones among this demographic. Moreover, the retention of cell phone numbers when individuals move makes accurate geographic-based weighting extremely difficult. Given the challenges of conducting telephone surveys, can the Government specify which study activities require the use of telephone modes? Moreover, is the Government open to using online or mail modes if the results yield higher response rates and more reliable results?

Answer 12: No study requires the use of telephone mode. JAMRS is open to using the mode that provides the most reliable, accurate results given the means.

Question 13: Paragraph 4.2.1 states, “Develop survey materials (surveys, Business Reply Cards, invitation letters, etc.).” Does this requirement involve using a Government-owned survey tool? Is the Government open to using an off-the-shelf package produced by the Offeror or other commercial vendor?

Answer 13: The survey should be custom made for JAMRS. JAMRS will provide the Contractor previous versions of the survey for reference/a starting point. Many questions will be required to remain the same as they are tracking questions. The surveys are government property, but the Contractor will be responsible for developing, printing, and providing any and all materials associated with a given survey effort.

Question 14: For survey projects, what does the Government think is an acceptable response rate? Does the acceptable response rate vary in accordance with the survey mode (e.g., online, mail, or phone)?

Answer 14: JAMRS does not have a pre-defined ‘acceptable response rate.’ We believe it is reasonable to assume response rate will vary by survey mode.

Question 15: Paragraph 4.7.1 states, “Receive JAMRS Survey database (i.e., population frame of contact information for 16 to 24 year olds) using an information system that has been Department of Defense Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP) certified and capable of handling millions of individual records.” Should this database be hosted in a DIACAP accredited environment using a Type accreditation or does the information system that supports this database have a specific AIS accreditation that would need to be transferred from the incumbent? Does this information system need to be maintained on a contractor’s network without external access or does the data need to be made available over the network for external access to different government facilities?

Answer 15: The database should be hosted in a DIACAP accredited environment. Contractors must be able to prove their ability to maintain an information system in accordance with the IA safeguards outlined in DIACAP. The information system can be maintained on a contractor’s network without external access.

Question 16: Paragraph 9.1 states, “Systems must have and maintain an Authority to Operate (ATO) or if acceptable to the Government, an Interim Authority to Operate (IATO), or similar credentials applicable to the RMF requirements.” However, the incumbent is the only one that would have that ATO for JAMRS-specific information systems. Is the Government seeking a type accredited hosting environment or an automated information system-accredited ATO for a specific information system? What is the information system that should be targeted/and or should a survey tool be proposed with this solicitation?

Answer 16: Contractors must be able to prove their ability to maintain an information system in accordance with the IA safeguards outlined in DIACAP. A JAMRS-specific ATO is not a prerequisite for the Contractor, but the above requirements will ensure the Federal Government that the Contractor is equipped and prepared to manage the information system in accordance with DoD requirements.

Question 17: Does the Government expect the prime firm to hold the ATO? Is it acceptable for a subcontractor to hold the ATO?

Answer 17: The Contractor may propose partnering with a subcontractor that can provide evidence of an information system hosting environment that has met DIACAP information assurance safeguards.

Question 18: In Attachment C, the Sample Task PWS refers to SPSS as the software to conduct statistical analysis. However, there are many other statistical analytical packages that can perform the same analyses as SPSS such as SAS, STATA, and R. Is the Government open to the use of alternative statistical analysis packages?

Answer 18: Yes, JAMRS is open to alternative statistical analysis packages.

Question 19: For examples of past performance, the Government asks for recent examples. Can the Government state how many years back an example can be in order to qualify as recent?

Answer 19: See page 47, paragraph 3.3.1

(End of Summary of Changes)