PRESTO Small Business Industry Day_Presentation Slides 4-26-2022.pdf

Procurement of Research Evaluation and Statistics Task Orders (PRESTO)

Small Business Industry Day

April 26, 2022

Notice ID: IESE220353AP

Note Please visit SAM.gov to review the draft statement of work (SOW) and learn more about PRESTO.

Updates to the draft SOW remain pending the conclusion of all market research activities.

Q&A Slide

Category Examples Slide

Welcome

Slide

Small Business Slide

Background Slide

Scope Categories Slide

Important Dates Slide

Appendix Slide

Agenda Small Business Industry Day

Welcome

Endrias Leuleseged

Thank you for joining us for the PRESTO

Small Business Industry Day! Please observe the following for the purposes of today’s presentation:

❑ Meeting participants’ audio and video has been disabled

❑ The Government will not respond to questions submitted via the Teams meeting chat

❑ Presentation slides, transcript, and event attendance will be uploaded to SAM.gov

(Notice ID: IESE220353AP)

Alean Miller

Elise Christopher

Stephen Provasnik

Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

Contracting Officer’s Representative /

Senior Contracts Manager

Study Director, Longitudinal Surveys

Deputy Commissioner, NCES

Contracting Officer

Calvin Mitchell Director of Office of Small and

Disadvantaged Business Utilization

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is committed to providing all types and sizes of small business an opportunity to participate in both prime and subcontracts. Small businesses play a crucial role in the economy and perform the following functions:

Steer investment and spur innovation

Promote fair and equitable competition

Support and ensure a more robust and diverse federal procurement system

ED maintains a customer experience solution (SBCX) to help facilitate small business contracting. While not required to contract with ED, the SBCX enables businesses to upload their capabilities and highlight their interest in particular procurements, such as PRESTO. To register your small business or for more information on the SBCX, please visit https://mysbcx.ed.gov/.

Small Business at the Department of Education https://mysbcx.ed.gov/

Background

IES intends to re-compete the Education Statistics Service Institute

Network (ESSIN) contract by issuing a vehicle that encompasses additional requirements that supports the entire IES mission and that is accessible to the entire Department of Education as applicable.

This new vehicle has been titled Procurement of Research Evaluation and Statistics Task Orders (PRESTO), and shall be a multiple award, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract vehicle with an initial five-year period of performance and optional award up to five additional years.

The Institute of Education

Sciences (IES) is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the

U.S. Department of Education. We are independent and non-partisan.

Our mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.

For more information, please visit https://www.ies.ed.gov/.

Recompete and expand ESSIN requirements

Provide a vehicle that supports the entire IES mission and that is accessible to the entire

Department of Education as applicable

Provide access to a larger pool of qualified vendors and increase competition

Scope Categories

IES developed five distinct scope categories with associated NAICS codes assigned to each category.*

Task orders will be issued with a primary scope category; however, a nominal amount of scope may be included from another scope category.

Conduct surveys and evaluations that collect data and produce data products to support the mission of IES.

Education Sciences Support

Activities

Development of assessment components for sample survey studies and large-scale assessments.

Assessment Development Support2

Communications activities to include strategic communications oversight, external communications support, and internal communications support.

Communications and

Outreach

Expert support to recruit educational entities and groups traditionally underrepresented in education research.

Recruitment4

General mission support to enable ongoing functions across the IES. IES Operational Support5

S c o p e

C a te g o ri e s

*See the Appendix for a description of each category and the proposed NAICS code assignments.

Small Business Considerations

Categories 1-4 contain restricted and unrestricted pools with separate thresholds for evaluation at the ID/IQ level. Category requirements are the same in both pools, but the restricted pool is limited to small business offerors only.

Category 1

1.A

Unrestricted

1.B

Restricted

2.A

Unrestricted

2.B

Restricted

Category 2

3.A

Unrestricted

3.B

Restricted

Category 3

4.A

Unrestricted

4.B

Restricted

Category 4

Category 5

Restricted

Category 5 is restricted as a small business set-aside.

Task orders will be issued subsequent to the ID/IQ award, and additional market research will be required to determine whether the work should be set-aside for small business vendors in the relevant category’s restricted pool.

Category 1

Education

Science

Support

Activities

1.1 General Education Sciences Support

1.1.1 Sampling

1.1.2 Data Collection

1.1.3 Data Processing, Management, and Data Creation

1.1.4 Data Management and Information System Mgmt.

1.1.5 Weighting and Variance Estimation

1.1.6 Statistics and Data Analysis

1.1.7 Geospatial Activities

1.3 Sample Survey Activity Support

1.3.1 Sample Survey Management

1.3.2 Longitudinal Studies Management

1.3.3 Rapid Response Surveys

1.3.4 International Studies Activities

1.2 National Statistical, Evaluation, and Research Activities

1.2.1 Internal Expert Reviewing Activities

1.2.2 National Technical Assistance

1.2.3 Data Dissemination and Training Support

1.2.4 Congressional Allocation Program Support

1.2.5 Applied and Basic (R&D) Studies

1.2.6 Program-Based and Methodology Innovations

1.2.7 Report and Publication Production

1.2.8 Support for External/Internal Evaluation Activities

1.2.9 IES Technical / Quality Reviews

1.2.10 Training and Technical Assistance

1.2.11 External Expert Help

Category 2

Assessment

Development

Support

2.1 Assessment Management

2.2 Framework Development and Comparisons

2.3 Item Development

2.3.1 Non-cognitive Items

2.3.2 Cognitive Items

2.3.3 Process Data Items

2.3.4 Item Scoring and Coding

2.4 Psychometric Analyses

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

2.4.2 Process Data

2.5 Survey Feasibility

2.6 Instrument Design

2.7 Questionnaire Development

2.8 Assessment Development

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

Category 3

Communications and Outreach

3.1 Communications Planning and Management

3.2 External and Internal Communications Content

Category 4

Recruitment

4.1 Recruitment for Education Sciences Activities

4.2 State Coordinators Recruitment Center

4.3 Centralized Contact List

4.4 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Initiatives

Category 5

IES Operational

Support

5.1 Project Management Support

5.1.1 Project Program Integration and Coordination

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

5.1.3 Institutional Monitoring and Modernization Activities

5.1.4 Compliance Support

5.2 Logistics Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

PRESTO scope categories have been updated to reduce barriers-to-entry and provide maximum benefits to both industry partners and IES.

Restricted/Unrestricted pools in Categories 1-4

Category 5 is restricted to small business only

Small Busines Set-Aside

Scope categories and the draft

SOW may continue to be updated throughout the course of PRESTO market research.

Category 1 Education Sciences Support Activities

1.1 General Education Sciences Support

1.1.1 Sampling

1.1.2 Data Collection

1.1.3 Data Processing, Management, and Data Creation

1.1.4 Data Management and Information System Management

1.1.5 Weighting and Variance Estimation

1.1.6 Statistics and Data Analysis

1.1.7 Geospatial Activities

Scope Category Requirements

IES requires support to conduct surveys and evaluations that collect data and produce data products to support the mission of IES.

Any effort that collects data from human subjects will require Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and/or Institutional

Review Board (IRB) clearance packages.

1.2.1 Internal Expert Reviewing Activities

1.2.2 National Technical Assistance

1.2.3 Data Dissemination and Training Support

1.2.4 Congressional Allocation Program Support

1.2.5 Applied and Basic Research & Development (R&D) Studies

1.2.6 Program-Based and Methodology Innovations

1.3 Sample Survey Activity Support

1.3.1 Sample Survey Management

1.3.2 Longitudinal Studies Management

1.3.3 Rapid Response Surveys

1.3.4 International Studies Activities

1.2.7 Report and Publication Production

1.2.8 Support for External/Internal Evaluation Activities

1.2.9 IES Technical / Quality Reviews

1.2.10 Training and Technical Assistance

1.2.11 External Expert Help

1.2 National Statistical, Evaluation, and Research Activities

Provision of expert technical support for consultations on and review of a wide range of technical materials that go into the development and operations of surveys, assessments, and evaluations.

Internal Expert

Reviewing Activities 1.2.1

Contractor support for the professional review of the Early Childhood

Longitudinal Study (ECLS) national kindergarten and first-grade data collection instruments may include the following:

Review of National Kindergarten and First-Grade Data

Collection Instruments

Example Small Business Support

✓ Cross-checking included items against those fielded in other ECLS collections,

✓ Evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed instrumentation for collecting the intended data,

✓ Determination of whether the instruments can be completed in the anticipated timeframes for completion, and

✓ Assessing how seamlessly instruments interface with other instruments and databases central.

Development of innovative approaches, technologies, and procedures related to general education science support.

Program-Based and

Methodology Innovations 1.2.6

The National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE) may require contractor support for the development of a guide for constructing questions and survey items to improve evaluations of policy implementation.

This guide should draw on general item development best practices, but as applied toward understanding the extent to which state or local officials employ key levers to achieve the objectives of federal legislation. The guide should include suggested procedures for working from high-level research questions to outlining survey topics and then survey items, illustrative examples that use those procedures, and any checklists or tools that help users follow the procedures.

Guide Development for Questionnaire & Survey Items to Improve Evaluations of Policy Implementation

Example Small Business Support

Analysis support for all external and internal evaluation activities, as well as research and development, to include evidence reviews, evaluation feasibility studies, design studies, and evaluation preparation.

Example Small Business Support

Support for External / Internal

Evaluation Activities 1.2.8

The National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE) may require contractor support for an evidence review to answer a question about the effectiveness of a particular intervention* on outcomes of interest.

The contractor should undertake the following steps in order to produce a What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Intervention Report (IR):

Evidence Review to Assess Effectiveness of Intervention

*Intervention refers to a program, practice, instructional approach, or policy.

1. Undertake a systematic search for the causal research on a particular intervention,

2. Review all studies that are identified through the search against the latest WWC standards,

3. Use the latest WWC procedures to conduct a fixed-effects meta-analysis of the studies that meet WWC standards to estimate the impact of that intervention on outcomes of interest,

4. Draft a WWC IR based on the meta-analysis, and

5. Revise the IR based on IES review and peer review and produce a final IR for publication.

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

Review support for draft deliverables and final products developed by IES or other entities to ensure that they are complete, thorough, accurate, neutral, and non-biased, of technical high quality, easily understood, and meet Statistical Standards, tabular guidelines, as well as the IES’ Style Guide.

Example Small Business Support

IES Technical / Quality

Reviews 1.2.9

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) may require support for:

✓ The development and maintenance of NCES’ Statistical Standards and Guidelines;

✓ Monitoring the application of NCES’ Statistical Standards and Guidelines in all

NCES statistical products;

✓ Providing statistical support needed to monitor data quality in NCES products;

✓ Providing statistical support needed to monitor the usage of NCES data;

✓ Providing statistical support needed for statistical research projects; and

✓ Providing statistical support needed for disclosure risk reviews of work products submitted by IES licensed data users.

Statistical Standards and Data Confidentiality Staff (SSDCS)

Technical Statistical Support

Expert support in the development and delivery of training materials and methods to aide in the use of

IES’ products.

The DLDT system is an online, interactive tool that allows you to learn about the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data products across the education spectrum and evaluate them for your use. The

DLDT modules are designed to introduce you to many NCES datasets, their design, and special considerations for analysis to facilitate effective use.

Training and technical assistance may be required to assist users in finding published reports; acquire, access, and explore data;

and create data files for analysis. The DLDT allows users to access this information at no cost via a self-paced system.

Distance Learning Dataset Training (DLDT) Support

Example Small Business Support

Training and Technical

Assistance 1.2.10

Provision of support and assistance, to include access to a wide array of senior statisticians, senior survey methodologists, senior technical experts, and senior subject matter experts with expertise across the full range of IES education sciences work. This support shall provision IES with the expert help it needs to execute its mission goals, as applicable.

External Expert Help1.2.11

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) may require contractor support from a senior level statistical professional with nationally recognized statistical and methodological expertise in

NCES’ working programs and activities (e.g., practices and organizational structures for identifying, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data and statistics on education) to lead this activity and to facilitate a working group developed to provide expert feedback to

NCES on a relevant topic.

Office of the Commissioner and Statistical Standards and

Data Confidentiality Expert Staff Support

Category 2 Assessment Development Support

IES requires support to develop assessment components for its sample survey studies and to develop and conduct large-scale assessments.

Scope Category Requirements

2.1 Assessment Management

2.2 Framework Development and Comparisons

2.3 Item Development

2.3.1 Non-Cognitive Items

2.3.2 Cognitive Items

2.3.3 Process Data Items

2.3.4 Item Scoring and Coding

2.4 Psychometric Analysis

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

2.4.2 Process Data

2.5 Survey Feasibility Assessment

2.6 Instrument Design

2.7 Questionnaire Development

2.8 Assessment Development

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

✓ Expertise in current best practices for conducting psychometric analyses

✓ Evaluating whether survey items work together as expected

✓ Design and development of survey and assessment instruments

✓ Experience with cross-sectional and longitudinal panel studies

✓ Content knowledge expertise in various educational subjects

(e.g., math, reading, and science, social studies, information literacy)

Key Organizational Capabilities

This work may include reviewing recommendations from a content review panel (e.g., for content and data collection approaches, non-cognitive items that exist for the topic appropriate for the expected respondent type, and data collection mode), finding or developing non-cognitive items, documenting item sources, including information about the properties of the non-cognitive item and justification for its selection for the government study, and developing items for a variety of respondents (e.g., students, teachers, and parents) who represent diverse respondent groups.

Non-Cognitive Item Development

Category 2 Assessment Development Support

2.1 Assessment Management

2.2 Framework Development and Comparisons

2.3 Item Development

2.3.1 Non-Cognitive Items

2.3.2 Cognitive Items

2.3.3 Process Data Items

2.3.4 Item Scoring and Coding

2.4 Psychometric Analysis

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

2.4.2 Process Data

2.5 Survey Feasibility Assessment

2.6 Instrument Design

2.7 Questionnaire Development

2.8 Assessment Development

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

Scope Category Requirements

Example Small Business Support

Development, identification, documentation of sources, and evaluation of non-cognitive items to be used in non-assessment data collections.

2.3.1 Non-Cognitive Items

The development of a psychometric report may be required to address whether the psychometric objectives of the assessment battery were not met, met, or exceeded, and include an in-depth description of the types of scores reported and included in the data file.

Psychometric Report Development

Category 2 Assessment Development Support

2.1 Assessment Management

2.2 Framework Development and Comparisons

2.3 Item Development

2.3.1 Non-Cognitive Items

2.3.2 Cognitive Items

2.3.3 Process Data Items

2.3.4 Item Scoring and Coding

2.4 Psychometric Analysis

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

2.4.2 Process Data

2.5 Survey Feasibility Assessment

2.6 Instrument Design

2.7 Questionnaire Development

2.8 Assessment Development

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

Scope Category Requirements

Example Small Business Support

Evaluating the effectiveness of cognitive/non-cognitive survey items and their interoperability with each other against baseline expectations.

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

Process data work means research using information contained in the log files collected by the computer system while students take assessments or tests on computers.

This type of work must augment students' scores and provide additional information on students' interactions with the assessment and testing environment.

Psychometric Analysis:

Process Data Support

Category 2 Assessment Development Support

2.1 Assessment Management

2.2 Framework Development and Comparisons

2.3 Item Development

2.3.1 Non-Cognitive Items

2.3.2 Cognitive Items

2.3.3 Process Data Items

2.3.4 Item Scoring and Coding

2.4 Psychometric Analysis

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

2.4.2 Process Data

2.5 Survey Feasibility Assessment

2.6 Instrument Design

2.7 Questionnaire Development

2.8 Assessment Development

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

Scope Category Requirements

Example Small Business Support

Evaluating process data, meta-data, and paradata.

2.4.2 Process Data

The contractor may be required to design and implement a cognitive laboratory research study to support the development of items and/or usability testing. The cognitive laboratory research should be directed towards an understanding of the following:

1. The extent to which the items are understood by respondents and how their answers might be interpreted,

2. The validity of the items, and/or

3. The extent to which the formatting and flow of the items is usable and understood by respondents.

Cognitive Laboratory Studies for Item Development

Category 2 Assessment Development Support

2.1 Assessment Management

2.2 Framework Development and Comparisons

2.3 Item Development

2.3.1 Non-Cognitive Items

2.3.2 Cognitive Items

2.3.3 Process Data Items

2.3.4 Item Scoring and Coding

2.4 Psychometric Analysis

2.4.1 Cognitive/Non-Cognitive Items

2.4.2 Process Data

2.5 Survey Feasibility Assessment

2.6 Instrument Design

2.7 Questionnaire Development

2.8 Assessment Development

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

Scope Category Requirements

Example Small Business Support

Provision of support in the piloting or testing of new survey and assessment items, especially open-ended or “constructed response” cognitive items, as well as new data collection formats or modes.

2.9 Cognitive Labs and Focus Groups

Category 3 Communications and Outreach

IES requires expert support for communications activities to include strategic communications oversight and support for external and internal communications.

Social Media

Content development, support for social media campaigns, and the application of social media analytics to measure success and track progress for the CMO – relevant KPIs provided by the CMO in scope category 3.1

(“Communications Planning and Management”)

Graphic Design

Updating and creating graphics in accordance with IES’ brand guidelines – brand compliance standards are set by the Communications Management Office (CMO), supported in scope category 3.1 (“Communications

Planning and Management”)

Example Small Business Support

3.1 Communications Planning and Management

3.2 External and Internal Communications Content

Scope Category Requirements

Category 4 Recruitment

IES requires expert support to recruit educational entities and groups traditionally underrepresented in education research on a national and international scale.

Recruitment does NOT include…

Traditional human resources (HR) activities or the recruitment of IES’ employees or federal contractors.

Recruitment includes…

Engagement with postsecondary institutions, professional organizations, schools, state and local education agencies, and other public or private enterprises – recruitment depends upon the research participant needs of IES’

Centers and divisions.

Scope Category Requirements

4.1 Recruitment for Education Sciences Activities

4.2 State Coordinators Recruitment Center

4.3 Centralized Contact List

4.4 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Initiatives

Assistance in the identification and recruitment of participants for IES-sponsored programs, surveys, and other education data collection activities.

4.1 Recruitment for Education Sciences Activities

4.2 State Coordinators Recruitment Center

4.3 Centralized Contact List

4.4 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Initiatives

Scope Category Requirements

4.1 Recruitment for Education Sciences Activities

NIES support services are designed to meet participation challenges, such that all Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools serving students in grades 4 and/or 8 participate in the NIES study sample – the approval of all schools and students must be obtained following the timeline set by the Sampling & Data Collection contractor.

The timely communication to all selected schools and their education agencies is critical to the success of the study. The contractor would be expected to share information related to the study in the years prior to the recruitment period with a variety of American

Indian / Alaska Native constituencies (including BIE schools) to help maximize awareness.

National Indian Education Study (NIES)

Support Services

Support to maintain and manage a national recruitment center to work with applicable stakeholders at the state and local level, as well as private organizations.

4.1 Recruitment for Education Sciences Activities

4.2 State Coordinators Recruitment Center

4.3 Centralized Contact List

4.4 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Initiatives

Scope Category Requirements

4.2 State Coordinators Recruitment Center

This support entails maintaining and managing a national recruitment center to work in every state with schools, state and local education agencies, and other private organizations.

Recruitment targets are study participants to respond to and participate in the following:

✓ Research surveys

✓ Program evaluations

✓ Other data collection activities.

Example Small Business Support

National Recruitment Center

Management Support

Support for DEIA initiatives, to include training and professional development, strategic planning, data collection and analysis, grants management support, administrative and logistical support, and outreach and communications support.

4.1 Recruitment for Education Sciences Activities

4.2 State Coordinators Recruitment Center

4.3 Centralized Contact List

4.4 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Initiatives

Scope Category Requirements

4.4 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Initiatives

IES’ ability to conduct and support high-quality research is dependent on our ability to attract, train, partner with, and support talented researchers, statisticians, and evaluators from all backgrounds.

IES needs contractor support to conduct outreach to diverse communities of researchers. Potential activities include the following:

✓ Identifying potential communities of researchers who have not been historically funded by IES,

✓ Conducting need-sensing activities with these communities,

✓ Developing outreach plans,

✓ Conducting outreach events, and

✓ Developing outreach and collateral materials (e.g., print, multi-media, and/or virtual).

Support for DEIA Initiatives

Category 5 IES Operational Support

Restricted Small Business Set-Aside

5.1 Project Management Support

5.1.1 Project Program Integration and Coordination

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

5.1.3 Institutional Monitoring and Modernization Activities

5.1.4 Compliance Support

5.2 Logistics Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

Scope Category Requirements

✓ Coordination and project management support for large, complex research projects

✓ Plan, support, promote, and implement technical working groups, conferences, meetings, and events, in-person and virtual, on behalf of the government

✓ Providing timely technical support to users of statistical and research products

IES requires expert support with general mission support to enable ongoing functions across IES.

Key Organizational Capabilities

Technical project management of specified IES’ IT investment planning, processes, and performance reporting to ensure that IES IT investments are well-monitored, accurate, and that they experience continuous improvement.

5.1 Project Management Support

5.1.1 Project Program Integration and Coordination

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

5.1.3 Institutional Monitoring and Modernization Activities

5.1.4 Compliance Support

5.2 Logistics Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

Example Small Business Support

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

✓ Gathering and compiling information from Contracting Officer

Representatives (CORs)

✓ Drafting project documentation, budgets, and related reports for use in the

Department's IT investment management system, FOLIO

✓ Coordinating with IES’ project managers to ensure overall accurate management of IT spending and reporting

Sample Surveys Information Technology Investment

Management, Quality Assurance/Quality Control Support

Activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Scope Category Requirements

5.1 Project Management Support

5.1.1 Project Program Integration and Coordination

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

5.1.3 Institutional Monitoring and Modernization Activities

5.1.4 Compliance Support

5.2 Logistics Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

Example Small Business Support

5.1.4 Compliance Support

Scope Category Requirements

Ensuring compliance with federally legislated or administratively determined mandates (e.g., Evidence Act, Federal Statistical Directive 4, IES public access policy) and the provision of compliance tracking support.

✓ SSDCS in its work to ensure the confidentiality of data held by IES via the IES Disclosure Review Board,

✓ The maintenance and promulgation of NCES’ Standards and Guidelines and data security electronic tools

✓ The continuous processing and review of new and renewing Public

Trust applications from contractor employees

Statistical Standards and Data Confidentiality Support

(SSDCS)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) may require support for the following:

5.1 Project Management Support

5.1.1 Project Program Integration and Coordination

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

5.1.3 Institutional Monitoring and Modernization Activities

5.1.4 Compliance Support

5.2 Logistics Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

Example Small Business Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

Scope Category Requirements

This includes the provision of full logistical elements to plan, support, promote, and implement government-sponsored meetings, conferences, and other engagements as applicable.

✓ Establishing and maintaining contact with qualified panel members

✓ Conducting background research on topics of relevance

✓ Developing materials to include meeting agendas, PowerPoint slide decks, talking points, brief surveys, and data collection tools for use at CTP meetings

✓ Scheduling and lead CTP virtual or in-person meetings

✓ Synthesizing and summarizing findings from CTP meetings

Center-Wide Teacher Panel (CTP) Event Support

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) may require the following event support services:

5.1 Project Management Support

5.1.1 Project Program Integration and Coordination

5.1.2 Business Case Quality Management Support

5.1.3 Institutional Monitoring and Modernization Activities

5.1.4 Compliance Support

5.2 Logistics Support

5.2.1 Event Planning

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

Example Small Business Support

5.2.2 Help Desk Support

Scope Category Requirements

Expert support to respond to requests for information about IES studies, data, and products from the public, other Department staff, or federal agencies. This includes, but is not limited to, providing information about IES products via e-mail, telephone, or regular mail; and, on an as-needed basis, providing special tabulations.

✓ Assistance with data requests and/or the use of IPEDS data analytics tools

✓ Dedicated support for a certain subset of data users and their requests for the support using the IPEDS data dissemination system and related tools

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

(IPEDS)

The contractor may be required to staff a Help Desk and provide answers to questions and administrative support for the data collection system, IPEDS.

Institution staff and coordinators may require the following:

Industry Q&A

Questions addressed on the following slides were submitted via the Industry Q&A web form, posted on SAM.gov, and not every question submitted will be addressed.

Note

Questions & Answers

IES has received the following questions through industry engagement activities, including the

Sources Sought Notice and industry Q&A web form.

Solicitation & Award Small Business

1. Does the Government anticipate requesting a separate proposal for each category or a single proposal that covers any and all of the categories?

A. The Government anticipates requiring separate technical proposals for each scope category. Section L of the RFP will provide further instruction to offerors.

2. [Does the Government] anticipate requiring a company to qualify for each Category, or will the contractor be allowed to pick and choose which category to bid against?

A. Vendors may choose which scope categories they bid on, and Offerors must submit a separate technical proposal for each scope category.

3. Will there be a separate pool of small businesses awarded as part of the IDIQ or will small businesses be competing against large businesses to be part of the IDIQ?

A. The Government anticipates Categories 1-4 will be comprised of a restricted and unrestricted pool with the restricted pool being open to small businesses only. Scope category 5 has been declared a small business set-aside.

IES has received the following questions through industry engagement activities, including the

Sources Sought Notice and industry Q&A web form.

Solicitation & Award Small Business

4. [In both the restricted and unrestricted pool] will Offerors be allowed to team with other firms?

A. Yes. The Government encourages teaming by both large and small businesses to strengthen an organization's capabilities.

5. For task orders [which include] work [across] multiple scope categories, would vendors who are awarded under only the primary category be eligible to bid (presuming of course that they could show they are also capable of completing the “nominal amount” of work related to the other category)?

A. Task orders will be issued to the most appropriate category. Vendors not awarded in the primary category will not be able to bid on the work as a prime, however they can serve as subcontractors to primes already awarded in that category.

6. Does ED/IES plan to release this as a full and open competition IDIQ? Or does ED/IES plan to release this as a BPA against the GSA MAS contract?

A. The Department intends to release PRESTO as a full and open ID/IQ.

IES has received the following questions through industry engagement activities, including the

Sources Sought Notice and industry Q&A web form.

Solicitation & Award Small Business

7. May some task orders be classified under multiple categories? If so, would eligible small businesses under any of the named categories be able to submit a proposal for the task?

A. The Department intends to release task orders under a primary scope category, and vendors responding to the task order will need to be awarded in the primary scope category. Please refer to the

Instructions to Offerors as this may be subject to change with the release of the RFP.

8. Will tasks be awarded during the competition of the vehicle (like done with ESSIN in 2011), or will task order RFPs be competed subsequent to awarding the vehicle (like last year's DAES contract)?

A. No task orders will be issued with the RFP. Task orders will be issued and awarded after the establishment of the PRESTO ID/IQ.

IES has received the following questions through industry engagement activities, including the

Sources Sought Notice and industry Q&A web form.

Solicitation & Award Small Business

9. Is there a preference for 8a firms or can any small business pursue the PRESTO Solicitation?

A. All small businesses are eligible to compete on the vehicle, regardless of their small business classification.

10.Does the Government envision a large business pool and a separate small business set-aside pool?

A. The Government anticipates Categories 1-4 will be comprised of a restricted and unrestricted pool with the restricted pool being open to small businesses only. Scope category 5 has been declared a small business set-aside.

11.When a small business set-aside task order is released, will all small businesses deemed eligible under a category be invited to submit a proposal in that category?

A. Yes, small businesses in the restricted pool will be invited to submit a proposal in the respective scope category.

Important Dates The activities below reflect key elements of IES’ industry engagement plan in anticipation of an RFP release in

Summer 2022.

Closed March 24th at

1:00 PM EST

Posted to SAM.gov

April 6, 2022 Hosted

April 21, 2022

Today

April 26, 2022

Sources

Sought

Prerecorded

Industry Day

Live

Industry Day

Small Business

Industry Day

Estimated

Summer 2022

Release of

Solicitation

Visit SAM.gov (Notice ID: IESE220353AP) to stay informed and up to date on the PRESTO procurement status.

Appendix A

Scope Categories Overview

Overview

The PRESTO contract vehicle will consist of five distinct scope categories with associated NAICS codes assigned to each category. Task orders will be awarded with a primary scope category, and only vendors awarded under that scope category will be able to bid.

Category Description Possible NAICS Code(s)

Education Sciences Support Activities IES requires expert support to conduct surveys and evaluations that collect data and produce data products to support the mission of IES.

• 518210

• 541720

Assessment Development Support IES requires expert support to develop assessment components for its sample survey studies and to develop and conduct large-scale assessments.

• 518210

• 541720

Communications and Outreach IES requires expert support for communications activities to include strategic communications oversight, external communications support, and internal communications support.

• 541611

• 541613

• 541612

• 541618

Recruitment IES requires expert support to recruit educational entities and groups traditionally underrepresented in education research on a national and international scale.

• 541611

• 541613

• 541612

• 541618

IES Operational Support IES requires expert support with project management, logistics, and subject matter expertise to enable ongoing functions across the IES.

• 541720

• 541512

Appendix B

Additional Category Examples

Expert support managing and converting data gathered during a study or in an evaluation collection process into organized data in fully documented data files ready for secondary analyses by the government and the public.

Data Processing, Management, and Data Creation 1.1.3

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has a need to monitor the collection activities of its various national studies.

These activities are numerous and may require knowledge of the following:

✓ Statistical Software (e.g., SAS);

✓ Databases (e.g., SQL); and

✓ Data analytics.

Movement of data between systems requires that the contractor prepare and maintain code with proper comments, adhere to proper archiving procedures, and other quality assurance checks to ensure the correct data was updated in the respective system environments.

Monitoring National Data Collection Activities

Support, to include, but not limited to, data processing, method recommendation, and data testing.

Data Management and

Information System Management 1.1.4

IPEDS regularly updates and archives data in the Data Center. Also, IPEDS is currently unarchiving data prior to 1985 in an effort to modernize its availability to the public.

This work entails reformatting data files in ascii text format and loading them into the SQL Database environment used by the IPEDS Data

Center. This work may require knowledge of data structures, SAS, and data tools like databases.

Data Center functionality requires the creation of metadata tables for reports, variables, legislative information, and data collection information.

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

Example https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/

Support to prepare and conduct rapid response surveys, from the point of identifying and defining a data need, to completing a complete draft of a first look report and dataset.

Rapid Response Surveys1.3.3

The Government requires expertise and experience to prepare and conduct rapid response surveys within a matter of a few months.

From the point of identifying a data need to a complete draft of a first look report and data set, the surveys should take 3 months or less excluding government clearance time requirements.

Rapid Response Survey Support