Request for Information - TAPAS for IES Research Centers.pdf

FAR 16.505 Toolkit Template Version 1.0 Page 1

U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences

Request for Information (RFI) Technical, Administrative, and Program Assessment Support (TAPAS) for the IES Research Centers

PLEASE NOTE: All information contained in this notice is preliminary in nature and subject to change. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Quotations (RFQ), Invitation for Bids (IFB), or a commitment on the part of the Government to conduct a solicitation in the future. All information provided is strictly voluntary and no reimbursement will be made by the Government for any costs associated with providing a response to this notice or otherwise participating in market research activities.

Further, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) offers no assurance that a solicitation will result from this notice.

1. Overview The National Center for Education Statistics (NCER) and National Center for Special education Research (NCSER) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) possibly has a need for services described in the attached DRAFT Performance Work Statement (PWS) and are seeking written information from vendors about their capability to carry out the work and feedback on the completeness and clarity of the PWS as well as your ability to accurately and reasonably price the tasks as described. Additionally, ED will assess the extent to which there are two or more small businesses with the capability and capacity to perform this requirement in accordance with FAR Part 19.

2. Description of the Requirement Through its research programs, NCER and NCSER supports research activities to improve the quality of education and thereby, increase student academic achievement, reduce the achievement gap between high-performing and low-performing students, and increase access to and completion of postsecondary education. NCER and NCSER also funds predoctoral and postdoctoral research training programs to invest in the training and development of the next generation of education researchers. The outcomes from these research and training programs are critical for demonstrating NCER and NCSER’s progress in meeting their legislative mandates.

The Technical, Administrative, and Program Assessment Support (TAPAS) task order is the first of its kind for NCER and NCSER and is intended to help both centers meet their legislative mandate by:

1. Supporting scientifically valid research activities through their research and training grant programs through:

o Monitoring the performance of NCER and NCSER research and training grants programs by conducting surveys, program reviews, and program evaluations of specific topics, programs, and/or portfolios.

o Developing and disseminating key information about NCER and NCSER funding opportunities, and provide resources and technical assistance to applicants, including first time applicants and applicants that have been historically underrepresented among IES’s applicants and awardees.

o Providing resources and technical assistance to current research and training grantees to strengthen the rigor and relevance of their research and training activities and address emerging issues in education research.

o Obtaining feedback from the field, including key stakeholders, for how NCER and NCSER can further improve its research and training programs.

2. Widely disseminate the findings and results of scientifically valid research in education, including those informed by the task order program reviews and program evaluations through:

3. Preparing presentations and other resources that can be used by NCER and NCSER staff as they share information about their research and training programs to external audiences, including researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

o Broadly disseminating findings from projects funded by NCER and NCSER through social media, infographics, and other engaging mechanisms to showcase the ways NCER and NCSER programs are helping to improve education programs, policies, and practices.

3. Focus Questions Vendor Capacity and Capability:

1. Describe and provide evidence for your capability and capacity to address the tasks described in this requirement. [Required]

2. Have you conducted similar work with other federal agencies or commercial entities? If so, provide examples of your experience with similar projects (size and scope) and please specifically identify how that work relates to this PWS.

Note: It is not necessary to provide detailed information about prior clients.

[Required]

3. Based on your past experiences, are there any inherent issues, risks, or challenges to be expected within the context of this work? If so, what are they? Please indicate if there are any ambiguities or any questions or things that need to be clarified in the draft PWS before an official RFP would be issued. [Required]

4. Teaming and Partners: Would work be completed by a single vendor or team? If you are filling capability and capacity gaps through the addition of subcontractors (i.e. members of your team), have you identified those subcontractors and the capability and/or capacity gaps that they fill? [Optional]

5. Teaming and Partners: Do you anticipate any barriers to entry for small business? If so, what aspects of the requirement create those barriers? [Optional]

Requirement Quality & Pricing:

6. If you are unable to provide a reasonable fixed price for one or more tasks, please identify those tasks. What additional information would you need to provide a fixed price for the work? [Required]

Vehicle Information:

7. This RFI is issued to internal PRESTO contract holders and external parties in order to validate small business capacity and capability. Please indicate whether you are on an existing IES or ED vehicle (e.g. PRESTO, EDGMSS, or other), the GSA Schedule, or another external Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract or Blanket Purchase Agreement against which ED may issue orders.

[Required]

4. Submission Instructions All interested parties are invited to submit formal responses in the RFI Response Template using this Microsoft Forms link: https://forms.office.com/g/cWe3AGbCpq.

Responses to each question are limited to 3,000 characters. Responses are due no later than January 27, 2025 at 12:00pm Eastern Time.

5. Contact Information Contracting Office Address

550 12TH ST, SW

WASHINGTON, DC 20002

USA

Points of Contact

Name Role Title E-mail

Primary Point of Contact

Colin Alleyne Contracting Officer

Colin.Alleyne@ed.gov

Secondary Point of Contact

Alyson Allman Contract Specialist

Alyson.Allman@ed.gov https://forms.office.com/g/cWe3AGbCpq