Solicitation Request for Proposal

May 24, 2011

Reference: Our Town Community Indicators Study

Subject: Request for Proposal Solicitation Number RFP 11-16 Unrestricted

Dear Prospective Offeror:

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) invites contractors to submit proposals for the services described in the attached statements of work, under the authority of Part 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Enclosed you will find a Statement of Work/solicitation that requests proposals that will address the Our Town Community Indicators Study. QUESTIONS concerning this proposal shall be submitted only via email to CONTRACTS@ARTS.GOV by 5:00 pm (EST) on June 7, 2011. Please SUBMIT your PROPOSALS by FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. (EST). This RFP in no way obligates the U.S.

Government to award a contract, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay any cost incurred in preparing and submitting your proposal.

The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation; will be most advantageous to the Government. Price and other factors will be considered. In order to select the winning offeror, NEA will rank offerors from best to worst. In addition to the narrative assessments prepared by the Evaluation Team for each evaluation factor, a point scoring system will be used to rank all technical and price proposals. The point scoring system uses a rating scale of 100%. However, NEA will not select an offeror for award on the basis of a superior capability without consideration of the amount of its price. In order to select the winning proposal, NEA will rank each offeror by making a series of paired comparisons between them, trading off the marginal differences in capability with the marginal difference in price.

Offerors are encouraged to pursue collaborations in order to provide the NEA with the expertise required for this evaluation.

The Government’s estimate for this contract is $250,000.

The precise period of performance will be determined at the time of award; through submission of the final report due no later than September 30, 2014.

Proposals that are faxed will not be accepted. Proposals must be received by the closing date and time stated above via email to CONTRACTS@ARTS.GOV. Please refer any questions concerning this request to Latonca M. Harris via email at CONTRACTS@ARTS.GOV.

Sincerely, Latonca M. Harris

Latonca M. Harris Contracting Officer Grants & Contracts Office mailto:harrisl@arts.gov mailto:harrisl@arts.gov mailto:harrisl@arts.gov

Enclosures:

Section B, Supplies/Service and Prices Section C, Description/Specifications/Statement of Work Section D, Preservation, Packaging and Marking Section E, Inspection and Acceptance Section F, Deliveries or Performance Section G, Contract Administration Data Section H, Special Contract Requirements Section I, Contract Clauses Section J, List of Attachments Section K, Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors Section L, Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors Section M, Evaluation Factors for Award

SECTION B

SUPPLIES/SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 GENERAL

In January 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts announced Our Town, a new grant opportunity for arts and design projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. The purpose of this request for proposals is to hire a contractor to assist the Arts Endowment with structuring a process to measure the impacts of these investments in what the Arts Endowment refers to as “Creative Placemaking.” Specific tasks for the contractor will include the development of an indicators system to monitor trends in quality of life, creative activity, community identity/sense of place, and the local economy in Our Town communities; a baseline collection of indicators data across all grant projects; technical assistance to grantee communities so they can build capacity to track and report indicators data; and data collection on grant projects to inform the revision of grant guidelines and reporting requirements for future Our Town grant competitions.

B.2 PRICING

All unit prices are firm fixed rates.

Period of Performance: Date of Award through submission of the final report due no later than September 30, 2014.

ITEM

No.

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES QTY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

0001 Our Town Community Indicators Study 1 Lot $ $

FIRM FIXED PRICE

GRAND TOTAL

AMOUNT FOR

NTE $

*NEA agrees to release payments to the contractor consistent with the submission of deliverables during the task order period. The contractor may invoice according to the following schedule:

Task Cost Quantity Total TASK 1. Final Indicators System Report Due January 27, 2012

$ 1 Lump Sum

TASK 2. Baseline Indicators Report Due July 27, 2012

$ 1 Lump Sum

TASK 3. Technical Assistance Final Guidance Due October 26, 2012

$ 1 Lump Sum

TASK 4. Final Evaluation Report Due September 5, 2014

$ 1 Lump Sum

TOTAL $

SECTION C

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 INTRODUCTION

Increasingly, communities across our nation are using smart design and leveraging the arts to create livable, sustainable neighborhoods. Through the creation of Our Town, the Arts Endowment is joining other funders in supporting initiatives intended to improve community livability. The Arts Endowment recognizes that the arts make an impact on neighborhoods, towns, and cities, and that such impacts can be challenging to measure.

Livability & Creative Placemaking

Artists, arts workers, and arts industries play a dynamic role in shaping the life of a community. The arts can improve the quality of life by making distinct local identities and cultivating a sense of place—thus enhancing a place’s aesthetic appeal and the civic pride of its residents. The arts create vibrant local economies by spurring job creation, innovation, productivity, and economic growth. Also, the arts provide spaces and opportunities for community members of different backgrounds to converge on a shared arts experience, one that summons the community’s collective creativity and allows them to re-imagine their surroundings. By supporting these activities through grant-making, the Arts Endowment enables nonprofit organizations and their partners to enhance the livability of their communities.

The Arts Endowment’s new focus on improving livability is articulated in the Arts Endowment’s Strategic Plan for FY2012-2016, which identifies this strategic outcome for the Agency: Livability:

American Communities Are Strengthened Through the Arts. The NEA Strategic Plan offers a definition for livability, which guides the aims of the Our Town initiative.1 The Arts Endowment defines livability efforts that involve the arts and design as Creative Placemaking:

In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, nonprofit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired.2

As the Endowment’s initial investment in creative placemaking, the Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative (MICD25), implemented in FY 2010, was a forerunner of the Our Town initiative.

This grant program supported creative placemaking projects, in twenty-one communities. The grants were

1 In Art Works for America: Strategic Plan, FY 2012-2016 (Hhttp://www.nea.gov/about/Budget/NEAStrategicPlan2012-2016.pdfH), the Arts Endowment defines livability consisting of a variety of factors that contribute to the quality of life in a community. Education, employment, safety, sustainability, affordable housing, ease of transportation, access to public buildings and facilities, an aesthetically pleasing environment, and ample opportunities for social, civic, and cultural participation are among qualities that make a place livable. Arts and design can enhance livability by providing new avenues for expression and creativity. Arts and design-related livability activities may include the development of plans for cultural and/or creative sector growth, the enhancement of public spaces through design or new artworks, arts or design activities that foster community interaction, or the engagement of artists, designers, and/or arts organizations in plans and processes to improve community livability and enhance the unique characteristics of a community.

as

2 A. Markusen & A. Gadwa, Creative Placemaking (Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts, 2010), Executive Summary 3, accessed May 11, 2011, http://www.nea.gov/pub/CreativePlacemaking-Paper.pdf.

awarded with amounts ranging from $25,000 to $250,000; an overview of grant awards may be reviewed on the NEA website: http://www.nea.gov/national/micd25/index.html.

Through the new Our Town grant program, launched in FY 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants, ranging from $25,000 to $250,000, for creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with leading arts and design organizations and artists, work to improve livability. For more information on the Our Town grant program, see Appendix A.

Measuring Creative Placemaking Investments

Along with grant-making efforts to strengthen communities through arts and design, heightened interest exists in documenting the progress and long-term results of such initiatives (Markusen & Gadwa, 2010).

Researchers, planners, and policy-makers are all asking:

• To what degree is residents’ attachment to communities affected by creative placemaking?

• What impact does creative placemaking have on artists and the surrounding arts community?

• To what degree are local economic conditions affected, including local businesses and property values?

• Perhaps most importantly, does creative placemaking improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents?

The Arts Endowment recognizes the challenges of assessing the impact of creative placemaking on community livability. In 2010, for example, the Arts Endowment convened some of the nation’s foremost thinkers and practitioners in urban design, cultural policy, and community development to grapple with this issue. The resulting document (http://www.Arts Endowment.gov/research/Arts-and-Livability- Whitepaper.pdf) summarizes the insights that emerged during the day’s discussions. Perhaps the most significant realization among participants was that more innovative methods will be needed—and more comprehensive data sources must be mined—if we are to record the incremental benefits and long-term impacts of art and design for specific communities. It is the intent of the Arts Endowment through this contract to pioneer new approaches for assessing the impact of the arts and design on communities.

C.2 SCOPE OF WORK

To address the challenges outlined above, the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis intends to award a contract for an Our Town community indicators study. The purpose of the study is to devise long-term metrics that can be used to track the ongoing relationship between the arts and the livability of selected communities. The contractor will work closely with the Arts Endowment to conduct these four primary tasks:

1. Develop an indicators system to monitor trends in quality of life, creative activity, community identity/sense of place, and the local economy in Our Town communities. The indicators data will derive primarily from two sources (see Appendix B for examples):

• Existing datasets from local, state, and/or national sources; and

• Intercept, household, and/or organizational surveys to be designed as part of the study.

http://www.nea.gov/national/micd25/index.html http://www.nea.gov/research/Arts-and-Livability-Whitepaper.pdf http://www.nea.gov/research/Arts-and-Livability-Whitepaper.pdf

2. Conduct a baseline collection of indicators data across all Our Town grant projects.

3. Provide technical assistance to Our Town communities so they can build capacity to track and report indicators data.

4. Collect data on FY2011 Our Town grant projects to inform the revision of grant guidelines and reporting requirements for future Our Town grant competitions.

Please note: The NEA especially welcomes proposals that use innovative methods and/or technologies to collect and report data about creative placemaking. Moreover, because of the diverse expertise required of the contractor, teaming arrangements are encouraged among proposers.

In addition the contractor will be expected to work with the Arts Endowment in the following ways:

1. Steering Committee and Project Advisors: A project steering committee composed of Arts Endowment staff will advise on this project. The Arts Endowment will also convene a group of advisors, composed of arts professionals and researchers, with whom the contractor may consult on an ad hoc basis.

2. Kick-Off Meeting: The contractor is expected to participate in a project kick-off meeting by telephone or in person within five days of the contract award; the contractor shall produce minutes of the meeting. A modified work plan (estimated not to exceed 10 pages), must be submitted in electronic format no later than 10 days after the kick-off meeting.

3. Project Communications: The contractor will also participate in progress report meetings by telephone with the Project Director and/or the project steering committee at least on a monthly basis or as necessary. The contractor may be asked to present in person to the project steering committee, in addition to the Project Director, in association with any of the contract/project tasks. One week preceding each progress report meeting, the contractor will submit monthly progress reports including: a list of tasks on-going and/or completed; brief summaries of significant meetings or briefings held during the month reported on; next steps to be undertaken by the contractor; and any pending action to be taken by the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis. An email summarizing action steps agreed upon at progress report meetings shall be submitted to the Project Director no later than 3 days after the meeting.

4. Report Structure Requirements: All required major deliverables shall include both full analytic text and a comprehensive Executive Summary reporting key findings. Typically, the main body of an Arts Endowment report is tailored to a general audience; all details regarding analyses and other technical information, including copies of all data collection instruments and protocols, should be located in technical appendices for researchers. Consistent with other Arts Endowment publications, this report should follow The Chicago Manual of Style and the Arts Endowment style guide. Report deliverables shall include an electronic version of the report with the text in Microsoft Word, electronic file(s) of raw data, analyses codes and outputs, and tables in Excel.

The Arts Endowment engages in extensive review of all documents that are to be published. The contractor should be prepared to be responsive to multiple rounds of feedback, while maintaining the integrity of all reported findings.

C.3 DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS

Below are the detailed specifications of the four primary tasks outlined in Section C.2.

TASK 1. Develop an indicators system to monitor trends in quality of life, creative activity, community identity/sense of place, and the local economy in Our Town communities.

SUB-TASK 1. Background research

The contractor will review the Our Town initiative and conduct background research using multiple methods, including:

o In-depth document review. This includes, but is not limited to, a review of documentation relevant to:

o The Our Town initiative (e.g., the Arts Endowment’s Creative Placemaking white paper and Our Town grant guidelines and reporting requirements); and o Individual Our Town grants (e.g., application data, including project objectives, activities, proposed indicators, and intended outcomes; contextual information on community issues, demographics, etc.)

o Review publicly available information about the ArtPlace initiative, a partnership among some of the largest arts funders in the country, which intends to develop a series of sub-metropolitan measures of vibrancy for the nation’s cities. These indicators will be used to assess the level of vibrancy of different areas within cities and, importantly, to measure changes in vibrancy over time.

o Review of existing indicators and indicators systems (e.g., The Boston Foundation’s Boston Indicators Project, The Urban Institute’s Arts and Culture Indicators in Communities Project and National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, Philadelphia Cultural Engagement Index, WESTAF’s Creative Vitality Index as used in Washington State, Oregon, and Philadelphia, The Reinvestment Fund’s Policy Map) for possible application to this initiative.

o Review of studies and reports about creative placemaking (e.g., studies by the Social Impact of the Arts Project, Artswave’s Measuring the Impact Project, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee’s Creative Industries: A New Economic Growth Opportunity for the Greater Milwaukee Region, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community reports, the Urban Institute’s Cultural Vitality in Communities: Interpretation and Indicators report, The Reinvestment Fund’s Creativity and Neighborhood Development: Strategies for Community Investment).

o Consultation with grant project stakeholders as appropriate. However, the contractor must be mindful that grantees will have limited time and resources for meetings related to this contract.

o Consultation with Arts Endowment staff, including with representatives of the Arts Endowment’s Offices of Design and Research & Analysis, and senior leadership, as well as with project advisors as appropriate.

SUB-TASK 2. Indicators system development

Based on the background research conducted, develop a national indicators system for providing reliable and objective data on livability for Our Town communities. The Arts Endowment expects the system to include some indicators that will apply to all projects. However, the Arts Endowment also anticipates that some indicators will apply only to individual Our Town projects with shared characteristics. The following characteristics should be considered in tailoring the indicators system to individual communities or projects:

• anticipated outcomes (improvements in quality of life, creative activity, community identity/sense of place, and local economy);

• geography;

• community population size;

• project total cost;

• project type:

o planning;

o design; and o arts engagement;

• project strategy:

o development of plan(s) for cultural and/or creative sector growth;

o use of design to enhance/revitalize public spaces;

o commissioning and/or installation of new art to improve public space(s);

o planning and/or conduct of arts activities to foster interaction among community members;

o engagement of artists and/or arts organizations; and o other strategies to improve livability through the arts and design.

An initial draft of this indicators framework should be submitted to the Arts Endowment project director. Following approval of the framework document, the contractor will develop a brief description of each indicator. The description should include, but not be limited to, the following elements:

• scope of indicator;

• rationale for indicator;

• target or direction of indicator;

• data source(s) and procedures to be used to obtain data;3

• frequency of data collection;

• estimated resource and cost burden to collect and report data;

• potential issues for data collection or reporting;

• other recommendations.

A draft of the indicators system, including individual indicator descriptions, should be submitted to the Arts Endowment project director. Following feedback from the project steering committee, a final version of the indicators system shall be submitted to the Arts Endowment project director no later than January 27, 2012. The indicators system must be approved by the Arts Endowment prior to proceeding with the next task.

3 The Arts Endowment anticipates that intercept, household, and organizational surveys and analyses of existing local, state, and/or national data sources will be primary data sources. Vendors should plan accordingly when estimating costs in their proposals.

TASK 2. Conduct a baseline collection of indicators data across all Our Town grant projects.

SUB-TASK 1. Development and pre-testing of data-collection instruments

For indicators that require the development of new data-collection instruments (e.g., intercept, household, and/or organizational survey instruments), draft and submit the instruments for review and approval. Revise all draft instruments in collaboration with the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis. All instruments must be approved by the Office of Research & Analysis prior to finalization.

Conduct pre-test of any data-collection instruments. Subsequent revisions to an instrument must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Research & Analysis. Final pre-tested instruments, and contact/cover letters related to data collection instruments, must be submitted to the Office of Research & Analysis for final approval. Submit final contact/cover letters related to data-collection instruments for revision and approval.

Upon determination by the Office of Research & Analysis, the approval process for some data-collection instruments may require additional consent by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). If so, the Office of Research & Analysis is required to prepare a packet under its “generic clearance” from OMB for information collections. The Contractor shall provide documentation to the Office of Research & Analysis as requested, and furnish additional assistance if necessary, to obtain any and all clearances as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Although OMB clearance is anticipated to take five days, it may take up to 60.

SUB-TASK 2. Baseline collection of indicators data

Following Arts Endowment approval of the indicators system, conduct a baseline collection of indicators data across all Our Town grant projects. Although the approved indicators system will determine the methods of data collection, the Arts Endowment anticipates that intercept, household, and organizational surveys and analyses of existing local, state, and/or national data sources will be primary methods of data collection.

SUB-TASK 3. Analysis and reporting of indicators data

The report should include an analysis of baseline data for each Our Town community’s indicators as well as aggregated baseline data from all Our Town communities. In an appendix to this report, present a detailed user’s guide for future collections of Our Town indicators data. The appendix should describe in detail the methods and procedures that should be employed by the Arts Endowment for collecting and analyzing indicators data. See Section C.2 for general reporting requirements. The final report shall be submitted no later than July 27, 2012.

TASK 3. Provide technical assistance to Our Town communities so they can build capacity to track and report indicators data.

SUB-TASK 1. Orient grantees to “Our Town” Community Indicators Project

Following the completion of Task 1, conduct a webinar to orient Our Town grantees to the community indicators project by March 2, 2012. The orientation session will: describe the processes and techniques used to develop the indicators system; explain how the indicators are differentiated by project activity type, community size, and other pertinent variables; and convey expectations for grantees’ participation in the project. Submit the orientation plan, including speaking notes, for review and approval. Revise draft orientation plan in collaboration with the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis. In consultation with the Project Director, the contractor will follow up with grantees on questions or concerns that arise from the orientation.

SUB-TASK 2. Prepare written guidance for grantee development and reporting of indicators data

The contractor will develop guidance on how Our Town communities can identify community-specific indicators based on their project objectives, and how they can collect, analyze, and report the indicators data. The Arts Endowment especially welcomes innovative and technological solutions for the provision of guidance. Submit the draft guidance for review and approval.

Revise draft guidance in collaboration with the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis. Guidance must be approved by the Office of Research & Analysis prior to finalization.

SUB-TASK 3. Pilot written guidance with a sample of Our Town grantees and revise accordingly

Pilot the approved guidance with a representative sample of Our Town grantees. The sample selected by the contractor should reflect the range of grantees using as sampling criteria anticipated outcomes, geography, community population size, project total cost, project type, and project strategy.

The contractor will collect feedback from grantees about the effectiveness of the guidance based on criteria cooperatively established with the Project Director. Draft and submit a feedback collection instrument for review and approval. Revise the draft instrument in collaboration with the Arts Endowment’s Office of Research & Analysis. The instrument and contact/cover letter must be approved by the Office of Research & Analysis prior to finalization.

Based on feedback collected from Our Town grantees, revise the guidance and resubmit for review and approval. Final guidance must be submitted no later than October 26, 2012.

Upon determination by the Office of Research & Analysis, the approval process for some data collection instruments may require additional consent by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Please see guidance in Task 2, Sub-Task 1.

TASK 4. Collect data on FY2011 Our Town grant projects to inform the revision of grant guidelines and reporting requirements for future Our Town grant competitions.

Collect and analyze project-level inputs, outputs, and short-term outcomes from a sample of Our Town grant projects with the primary intent to refine grant guidelines and reporting requirements.

The Arts Endowment is interested in understanding how Our Town projects were implemented, including the resources and partnerships that projects employed, the type and range of activities that projects undertook, and the measurable outputs of these activities (e.g., cultural asset maps).

The Arts Endowment is also interested in identifying short-term outcomes of Our Town projects at least 18 months following project completion.4 This information will be used as appropriate to

4 Short-term outcomes are defined as tangible evidence of incremental progress toward the achievement of the Our Town objectives. These short-term outcomes are distinct from the indicators identified in Task 1, which are intended to monitor trends in quality of life, creative activity, community identity/sense of place, and the local economy. The refine Our Town grant guidelines and reporting requirements; the contractor will be asked in the report deliverable to propose modifications to Our Town grant guidelines and reporting requirements. It is anticipated that data will be collected using mixed methods (e.g., online focus groups, telephone interviews, grant application/report data reviews,5 and administrative data reviews).

SUB-TASK 1. Final evaluation plan

Following the kick-off meeting, prepare and submit a modified research plan (estimated not to exceed 10 pages) in electronic format for accomplishing the work of this task. Collaborate with the Project Director on the modified evaluation plan.

The modified evaluation plan should include the following components:

• Research design that will focus on inputs and outputs (to assess the degree to which projects were implemented as proposed), and short-term outcomes of a sample of Arts Endowment-funded Our Town projects;

• Stratification plan for sampling appropriate grant projects, using factors such as project outcomes, type, and strategy, project total cost, and community demographics and geographic location;

• Proposed data-collection strategies using mixed methods to collect data on project-level inputs, outputs, and short-term outcomes (e.g., online focus groups, telephone interviews, grant application/report data, administrative data);

• Proposed analytical methods;

• Detailed work plan; and

• Timeline of tasks and related deliverables.

*The research plan must be approved by the Project Director prior to any further work on this task.

SUB-TASK 2. Development of data-collection instruments

Draft and submit data collection instruments for review and approval. Revise all draft instruments in collaboration with the Arts Endowment Office of Research & Analysis. All instruments and contact/cover letters must be approved by the Office of Research & Analysis prior to finalization.

Upon determination by the Office of Research & Analysis, the approval process for some data collection instruments may require additional consent by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Please see guidance in Task 2, Sub-Task 1.

Arts Endowment anticipates that short-term outcomes will vary to some degree by project type; examples of short-e viewed on the Arts Endowment website:

term outcomes may include approval and implementation of new design plans; increased visitation of sites of new public art installations; and increased participation in arts events.

5 Our Town application guidelines and reporting requirements may b Hhttp://www.nea.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/index.htmlH. The Arts Endowment also collects through GEO, an online module, the geographic location of funded activity; screenshots of the GEO module are presented in Appendix C.

SUB-TASK 3. Data collection

Conduct data collection across sample of Our Town grant projects. Coordinate collection of grant application/report and administrative data with the Office of Research & Analysis. All contacts with grantees should be cleared in advance with ORA staff and contact logs maintained.

SUB-TASK 4. Analysis and reporting

The report should include an analysis of inputs, outputs, and short-term outcome data for the sample of Our Town projects. The contractor shall develop formal recommendations addressing modifications to the Arts Endowment’s Our Town grant reporting requirements, existing report forms, and associated data elements to improve future data collections. The report shall take the form of a PowerPoint presentation to the project steering committee and senior leadership in addition to a formal report in electronic Word format. The final report shall be submitted to the Arts Endowment project director no later than September 5, 2014.

See Section C for general reporting requirements.

SECTION D

PRESERVATION, PACKAGING AND MARKING

Not Applicable.

SECTION E

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available.

Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address:

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/

(END OF CLAUSE)

E.2 52.246-4 Inspection of Services—Fixed-Price (AUG 1996)

E.3 Inspection and Acceptance

FAR Clause 52.246-4 Inspection of Services – Fixed Price, will govern inspection and acceptance of all services performed by the Contractor. The Contractor is responsible for carrying out its obligations under this contract by controlling the quality of all services rendered and ensuring performance of all contract requirements.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/

SECTION F

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 TIMELINE FOR PERFORMING CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

DELIVERY SCHEDULE:

In carrying out this project, the Contractor will be expected to complete the DELIVERY SCHEDULE for primary task deliverables is presented below:

Major Deliverables Due Date TASK 1. Final indicators system report 27-Jan-12 TASK 2. Baseline indicators report 27-Jul-12 TASK 3. Technical assistance final guidance 26-Oct-12 TASK 4. Final evaluation report 5-Sep-14

F.2 TERM OF CONTRACT

The contract term is from date of award through September 30, 2014. All work is expected to be completed based on the specific tasks for performing contract requirements.

F.3 NOTICE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF DELAYS

Required services shall begin at time of award in accordance with the Statement of Work. The Contractor is responsible for carrying out its obligations under this contract by controlling the quality of all services rendered and ensuring performance of all contract requirements. To this end, the Contractor shall establish, maintain, and manage quality control throughout the life of this contract. In the event the Contractor encounters difficulty in meeting performance requirements, or when the contractor anticipates difficulty in complying with the contract delivery schedule or completion date, or whenever the Contractor has knowledge that any actual or potential situation is delaying or threatens to delay the timely performance of this contract, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer and the NEA Project Director, in writing, giving pertinent details. The contractor shall provide these services within 24 hours of written notification, however, this data shall be informational only in character and that this provision shall not be construed as a waiver by the Government of any delivery schedule or date, or any rights or remedies provided by law or under this contract.

F.4 DELIVERABLES

The contractor shall provide information regarding the content and format for each deliverable.

Acceptance of all written documents will be based upon the NEA Project Director’s review and approval.

SECTION G

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 NEA Project Director

G.1.1 Upon award, a NEA Project Director will be designated to coordinate the technical aspects of this contract and inspect items/services furnished hereunder; however, he shall not be authorized to change any terms and conditions of the resultant contract, including price.

G.1.2 The NEA Project Director is authorized to inspect, accept, and certify services for payment with a statement “approved for payment”, signature and date in accordance with enclosed payment terms. If the invoices should be rejected or denied, the Project Director must immediately contact the Contracting Officer and return the invoice with the rationale to reject or deny payment in accordance with the performance associated with the invoice for further processing.

G.1.3 The Project Director for this contract is:

To be determined at time of award National Endowment for the Arts 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite

Washington, DC 20506

(202) 682-

G.1.4 The Contracting Officer for this contract is:

Latonca M. Harris

National Endowment for the Arts 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 618

Washington, DC 20506

(202) 682-5476

Written communications shall make reference to the award contract number and shall be mailed to the above address.

G.2 Invoice Requirements

G.2.1 Payment for actual work and services rendered under this contract will be made. Payment will be made by the National Endowment for the Arts via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and in accordance with the contract clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items (FEB 2007), and 52.232-34 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Other Than Central Contractor Registration (May 1999), upon submission of electronic invoices to the NEA’s Finance Office, via electronic email address to NEAINVOICES@ARTS.GOV. Additionally, invoices may be faxed to 202-682-5679.

G.2.2 The office that will make the payments due under this contract (i.e., the designated payment office) is shown below.

National Endowment for the Arts Finance Office, Suite 624

1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20506

To constitute a proper invoice, the following information and/or attached documentation shall be included with the invoice.

(1) Name and address of the Contractor.

(2) Invoice date.

(3) Contract number.

(4) Period covered by the invoice.

(5) Number and description, quantity, unit price and extended total for the period covered applicable to Section B, Supplies/Services and Prices.

mailto:neainvoices@arts.gov

(6) Cumulative amounts billed by to date.

(7) Name and address of Contractor official to whom payment is to be sent (must be the same as that in the contract or in a proper notice of assignment).

(8) Taxpayer Identification Number.

(9) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number.

Please note:

The successful contractor is required to have a valid, active registration in Central Contractor Registration: http://www.ccr.gov/

SECTION H

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Firm Fixed Price Commercial Item Contract.

H.2 SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

PRIVATE USE OF CONTRACT INFORMATION AND DATA

Except as specifically authorized by this contract, or as otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer, information and other data developed or acquired by or furnished by the Contractor in the performance of this contract, shall be used by the Contractor only in connection with the work under this contract. The contractor must obtain permission through a written request to the Contracting Officer and approval from the NEA’s General Counsel Office prior to releasing any data for use outside of the performance of this NEA contract.

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.227-14(b) Rights in Data-General, the Contractor shall guarantee strict confidentiality of the information and data that is provided by the Government during the performance of the contract. The Government has determined that some of the information and data that the Contractor will be providing during the performance of the contract is of a sensitive nature and cannot be disclosed in any manner.

H.3 PROHIBITION AGAINST SOLICITING AND PERFORMING PERSONAL SERVICES

A. The performance of personal services under this contract is strictly prohibited.

B. Personal service contracting is described in Section 37.104 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations

(FAR). There are a number of factors, when taken individually or collectively, which may constitute personal services. Each contract arrangement must be judged in light of its own facts and circumstances, but the question relative to personal services is: Will the Government exercise relatively continuous supervision and control over the contractor personnel performing this contract?

C. The government and the Contractor understand and agree that the support services to be delivered under this contract are nonpersonal services in nature that is no employer-employee relationships exist or will exist under the contract between the government and the contractor or between the Government and the contractor’s employees.

D. Contractor personnel under this contract shall not:

http://www.ccr.gov/

1. Be placed in a position where they are appointed or employed by a Federal employee, or are under the supervision, direction, or evaluation of a Federal employee.

2. Be placed in a Federal staff or policy making position.

3. Be placed in a position of supervision, direction, or evaluation over NEA personnel, or personnel of other contractors, or become a part of a government organization.

E. Employee Relationship

1. The services to be performed under this contract do not require the contractor or its employees to exercise personal judgment and discretion on behalf of the government.

2. Rules, regulations, direction, and requirements which are issued by NEA management under their responsibility for good order, administration, and security are applicable to all personnel who enter a Government installation. This is not to be construed or interpreted to establish any degree of Government control which is inconsistent with a non-personal services contract.

3. The Contractor shall immediately advise the Contracting Officer if the contractor or its employees are directed by any Government employee to perform work that the Contractor believes constitutes personal services.

H.4 FACILITY ACCESS

A. Rights of Egress and Ingress

During the life of this contract, the rights of ingress to and egress from the National Endowment for the Arts facility for the Contractor's representatives shall be made available as required.

During all operations on Government premises, the Contractor's personnel shall comply with the rules and regulations governing the conduct of personnel and the operation of the facility. The Government reserves the right to require Contractor personnel to "sign-in" upon entry and "sign-out" upon departure from the National Endowment for the Arts facility.

B. Building Access Passes

When any Contractor personnel enter a NEA building for the first time, the Contractor must notify the NEA Project Director in advance and provide the full name and purpose of visit in order to obtain approval for escorted access.

H.5 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Notice of Contractor Personnel Security Requirements

Compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 201 (FIPS 201) entitled "Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors," Phase I.

In accordance with FAR 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (January 2006), all contractor personnel assigned to work at the NEA or who will have access to NEA information systems are subject to the NEA “Identity Proofing and Registration Process,” established in compliance with HSPD-12 and subsequent guidance provided in, e.g., FIPS 201 and Office of Management and Budget “Memorandum M-05-24” (August 5, 2005).

At least ten working days before a contractor employee will begin work at the NEA or need access to NEA information systems, the contractor shall contact the Project Director to arrange an appointment for the purpose of initiating the process. All contractor personnel shall appear in person to verify their identity, provide fingerprints, and be photographed, prior to issuance of an NEA identification credential.

If a Federal agency has previously performed a background investigation of a contractor employee proposed to work on this contract, the contractor shall submit information to the Project Director to enable the NEA Office of Human Resources (OHR) to verify any previous successfully adjudicated background investigation performed by a Federal agency that meets the requirements of HSPD-12 and subsequent related Personal Identity Verification (PIV) guidance.

If a prior background investigation has not been performed and successfully adjudicated, or cannot be verified by the NEA, the contractor employee shall complete and submit the appropriate background investigation application form (in most cases SF-85: Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) to the NEA’s OHR. The OHR will – in accordance with current PIV guidance – initiate a background investigation. A credential will be issued only in accordance with the above-referenced guidance.

If the NEA receives disqualifying information on a contractor employee at any time, the NEA, at its sole discretion, may suspend or terminate access to and/or use of any or all NEA facilities and systems, and bar the contract employee from unescorted access to NEA facilities.

At the end of a contractor employee’s performance at the NEA, the contractor employee shall turn in his/her NEA identification credential to OHR prior to departure.

The denial of an agency identification credential to individual contractor employees by the NEA shall not be cause for extension of the period of performance of this contract or any contractor claim against the

NEA.

SECTION I

CONTRACT CLAUSES

I.1 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated By Reference, (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text may be accessed electronically at this Internet address: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/.

I.2 52.204-9 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel. (SEPT 2007)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with agency personal identity verification procedures when applicable that implement Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance M-05-24, and Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201.

(b) The Contractor shall insert this clause in all subcontracts when the subcontractor is required to have physical access to a federally-controlled facility or access to a Federal information system.

(End of clause)

I.3 Subpart FAR 9.505-4, Obtaining Access to Proprietary Information

(a) When a contractor requires proprietary information from others to perform a Government contract and can use the leverage of the contract to obtain it, the contractor may gain an unfair competitive advantage unless restrictions are imposed. These restrictions protect the information and encourage companies to provide it when necessary for contract performance. They are not intended to protect information-

(1) Furnished voluntarily without limitations on its use; or

(2) Available to the Government or contractor from other sources without restriction.

(b) A contractor that gains access to proprietary information of other companies in performing advisory and assistance services for the Government must agree with the other companies to protect their information from unauthorized use or disclosure for as long as it remains proprietary and refrain from using the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. The contracting officer shall obtain copies of these agreements and ensure that they are properly executed.

(c) Contractors also obtain proprietary and source selection information by acquiring the services of marketing consultants which, if used in connection with an acquisition, may give the contractor an unfair competitive advantage. Contractors should make inquiries of marketing consultants to ensure that the marketing consultant has provided no unfair competitive advantage

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (48 CFR CHAPTER 1) CLAUSES

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items. (JUN 2010) 52.227-14 Rights in Data-General. (DEC 2007) 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-

Commercial Items. (APR 2011)

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

(2) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) (31 U.S.C. 3553).

(3) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004) (Pub. L. 108-77, 108-78)

(b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:

[Contracting Officer check as appropriate.]

X (23) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755).

X (44) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—Central Contractor Registration

(OCT 2003) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

I.4 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days.

SECTION J

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

1. Appendix A: General Background on the Our Town Grant Program

2. Appendix B: Proposed Our Town Indicators

3. Appendix C: GEO Database Information

4. Wage Determinations Online - www.wdol.gov. Department of Labor Wage Determination Number:

2005-2103 REV (10) Date of Revision: 06/15/2010 Area: Washington, DC Click on the following hyperlink. http://www.wdol.gov/wdol/scafiles/std/05-2103.txt

SECTION K

52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items.

As prescribed in 12.301(b)(2), insert the following provision:

OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2010)

An offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov. If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the ORCA website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (o) of this provision.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision— “Emerging small business” means a small business concern whose size is no greater than 50 percent of the numerical size standard for the NAICS code designated.

“Forced or indentured child labor” means all work or service—

(1) Exacted from any person under the age of 18 under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily; or

(2) Performed by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a contract the enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or penalties.

“Inverted domestic corporation” means a foreign incorporated entity which is treated as an inverted domestic corporation under 6 U.S.C.