NVSSP RFI.pdf

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS (OJP)

BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS (BJS)

NATIONAL VICTIMIZATION STATISTICAL SUPPORT PROGRAM (NVSSP)

This Request for Information (RFI) is the initiation of market research under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part

10. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This announcement does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), Request for Quote (RFQ), or Request for Proposal (RFP), and it should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses to this notice may not be accepted as offers.

The Government anticipates the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes assigned to these services to be 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services and 541720 – Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities. However, the Government is open to industry input on a more appropriate NAICS code. The anticipated contract type is Time & Material. Contractors should ensure that they are properly registered in the Government’s System for Award Management at SAM.gov.

Background

As the Department of Justice’s principal federal statistical agency, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is responsible for the collection, analysis, publication, and dissemination of statistics on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operations of criminal justice systems at all levels of government. This project furthers the Department’s mission by establishing support to identify and address the most pressing challenges confronting crime and victimization data collection.

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the nation’s primary source of information on criminal victimization. Each year, data are obtained from a nationally representative sample of about 240,000 persons in about 150,000 U.S. households. Persons are interviewed on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States. The survey has been ongoing since 1973.

The NCVS collects information on nonfatal personal crimes (i.e., rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and personal larceny) and household property crimes (i.e., burglary/trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of theft), both reported and not reported to police. Survey respondents provide information about themselves (e.g., age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, education level, and income) and whether they experienced a victimization. For each victimization incident, respondents report information about the offender (including age, sex, race, ethnicity, and victim-offender relationship), characteristics of the crime (including time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of injury, and economic consequences), whether the crime was reported to police, reasons the crime was or was not reported, and experiences with the criminal justice system.

BJS maintains an active methodological and statistical research program in its estimation of victimization statistics.

Current and ongoing activities include the implementation of the redesigned NCVS core survey instrument, the assessment of NCVS survey administration procedures, and the NCVS subnational estimation program.

Objective and Scope

The primary focus of the National Victimization Statistical Support Program (NVSSP) will be to provide scientific and technical support for statistical and methodological research, statistical analysis, documentation, and dissemination related to BJS work on crime and victimization. Specifically, the NVSSP will support general methodological research related to improving the utility and cost-effectiveness of BJS’s NCVS.

Anticipated Services

The following are types of statistical support projects that the contractor is anticipated to perform:

Data collection and analysis

• Prepare information collection packages for approval by the Office of Management and Budget

• Conduct cognitive interviews, focus groups, and other qualitative methodologies

• Construct and field test/validate survey instruments

• Develop and administer surveys (including web-based, as well as other appropriate modes)

• Convene technical working groups, subject-matter experts, or peer review panels to independently assess the quality of data collection strategies and other issues related to the NCVS.

Program assessments/analyses

• Conduct systematic and in-depth literature reviews and data analysis

• Review, analyze, and synthesize current information and/or existing data or collection of new data

• Employ crowdsourcing platforms or online panels to collect information from crime victims

• Analyze data to answer complex research questions. These data may include existing survey data or data collected by the contractor

• Apply relevant findings and lessons learned across program assessments and analytical efforts.

Rapid response studies

• Conduct analysis on narrowly focused programmatic or methodological topics

• Develop extremely quick turnaround estimates using existing data on a specific topic.

General statistical research, training, and technical assistance

• Develop and update technical documentation

• Conduct ad-hoc analytical requests for BJS

• Provide training and technical assistance to BJS staff

• Develop training material on statistical methods or procedures for analyzing NCVS data.

Contractor Capabilities

The objectives and tasks of this requirement must be met by personnel who are highly skilled and experienced in delivering scientific and technical support for statistical and methodological research, statistical analysis, documentation, and dissemination related to BJS work on crime and victimization.

To this end, the Office of Justice Programs is seeking sources that can demonstrate their experience, skills, and qualifications with projects of similar scope and size completed within the last 3 years and explain in appropriate detail how they intend to demonstrate competency in each of the points listed below:

1) Demonstrated experience managing projects of similar size and scope to meet government objectives, ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables, and coordinating with government funding agencies

2) Demonstrated familiarity with the NCVS and expertise in criminology, criminal victimization, and the criminal justice system, including victim services and policing

3) Demonstrated experience with complex sample designs and demonstrated ability to create and apply statistical weights to survey samples to help achieve representative estimates

4) Demonstrated experience performing complex quantitative and qualitative social science research and understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses of analytical approaches with respect to the goal of the analysis, the quality of the data, and the issues that will impact the degree of internal and external validity

5) Demonstrated experience with small area estimation methods

6) Demonstrated experience developing reliable and valid survey instruments

7) Detailed knowledge of and demonstrated experience preparing information collection packages for approval by the Office of Management and Budget

8) Expertise and experience conducting various kinds of information collections, including qualitative data (focus groups and structured interviews), surveys, and large data sets, and specific and relevant experience in working with victims of crime and other such populations around potentially sensitive topics and effectively gathering the necessary information to be able to successfully complete research and project goals.

Information Submission Instructions

In addition to addressing the items above, the response should also include the following information:

1) Vendor’s name, address, points-of-contact information, website, DUNS, and cage code

2) Vendor’s current business designation and socioeconomic status

3) Vendor’s government-wide contracting vehicles (i.e., GSA Schedule Contract, OASIS, etc.)

4) Vendor’s tailored capability statements explaining the complexity and amount of effort expected of this task and addressing the tasking areas of this requirement, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability

5) Vendor’s Past Performance—Provide a list of three previous contracts where similar services were provided in the last 3 years. Provide customer/Government Agency contact information where these services were provided, including contract number (if applicable), period of performance, total contract value, contracting officer contact (telephone number and email address), and contract program manager contact (telephone number and email address).

All responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Ms. Jessica Williams, Contract Specialist, at Jessica.Williams@usdoj.gov.

The response to this notice is limited to 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments, charts, etc.). Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Interested vendors should monitor a government point-of-entry site for further information. Your firm’s response to this RFI is appreciated.

Submission Time and Date

Responses to the information provided above are due no later than Friday, March 1, 2022, at 12:00 PM Eastern Time.

Responses received after this date and time may not be considered.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any concern responding to this notice should ensure that their response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the concern’s qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation MAY be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

The Government will NOT accept requests for meetings or briefings, and may not answer any questions posed. No phone solicitations or email with regards to the status of a solicitation will be accepted prior to its release. Information and materials submitted in response to this notice WILL NOT be returned.

The Government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, the Government MAY issue a solicitation. There is no solicitation available at this time. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or the Government’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Primary Point of Contact

Please address any questions via email to Ms. Jessica Williams, Contracts Specialist, at Jessica.Williams@usdoj.gov.

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