RFI - TRIO - 1.28.21.docx

U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education

TRIO Data Analysis Contract

FISCAL YEAR 2021 TRACKING # OPEP210025AP

CAPABILITY STATEMENT INSTRUCTIONS

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is conducting market research to determine if capability and sufficient interest exists in the marketplace for an anticipated TRIO Data Analysis contract. This notice is NOT a request of proposals but is an invitation for potential offerors to express interest and provide information regarding their relevant knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Information submitted in response to this Request for Information (RFI) may be used to assist the Department in finalizing its acquisition strategy. Submission of Capability Statements, while strongly encouraged, is NOT a pre-requisite for a prospective vendor being able to submit proposals when the TRIO Data Analysis solicitation is released for competition.

Disclaimer: The Department will not pay for the provision of any information nor will it compensate any respondents for providing this information. This notice in no way obligates the Government to award any contract to any interested party. Feedback will not be provided to any interested party who submits information to the Department in response to this notice.

Capability Statement Submission Deadline The deadline for submitting Capability Statements is February 12, 2021, by 12:00 PM noon (EST) via e-mail to the following: Andreea.Patterson@ed.gov, and cc: Pamela.Bone@ed.gov.

Capability Statement Instructions

Primary Point of Contact:

Andreea Patterson Contract Specialist Andreea.Patterson@ed.gov Phone: (202) 245-6711 Fax: 202-245-6297 Secondary Point of Contact:

Pamela Bone Contracting Officer Pamela.Bone@ed.gov Phone: (202)245-6181 Fax: 202-245-6297

Capability Statement Instructions In response to the attached Draft Performance-based Work Statement (PWS) for the TRIO Data Analysis, the Department hereby solicits capability statements from eligible, interested small businesses. These small businesses are encouraged to team with larger organizations if needed in order to meet this requirement. Qualifications of partnering organizations may be included with each capability statement. Capability Statements must be no longer than 4 pages (single-spaced, with a minimum of one-inch margins and 12-point font). Vendors should provide responses addressing each of the capability statement content areas noted below.

BASIC INFORMATION

1. Please state your business/company name and address. Include contact information such as a corporate email address and website URL.

1. Please state your business size status (i.e., large or small) in the stated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services). Also provide all socio-economic categories for your company and the corresponding NAICS code.

1. State whether or not 541611 is the most appropriate NAICS code for the TRIO Data Analysis contract. Why or why not?

1. State if the requirement should be set-aside for small business, and why (or why not)? Provide the specific small business, socio-economic category in your response.

1. State whether the requirement appears to be commercial or non-commercial in nature.

1. Provide a suggested contract type or confirm that firm-fixed price is appropriate and a brief supporting statement.

1. State what type of small business you are.

1. State whether this should be a GSA order and which schedule is best suited to this requirement.

1. Please include any questions/comments you may have regarding the Draft PWS. These will not count towards the page limit.

CAPABILITY STATEMENT CONTENT AREAS

The capability statement should describe the collective expertise and experience of the following for each organization on the contractor’s team:

Skill in analyzing and summarizing the quality of data from postsecondary data collections. (Refer to attached Draft PWS for more information.)

Skill in the management of large, postsecondary longitudinal data files. (Refer to attached Draft PWS for more information.)

Skill in preparing mandated government reports that provide performance metrics and measures and also efficiency measures while adhering to data non-disclosure rules.

(Refer to attached Draft PWS for more information.)

Skill in conducting research on postsecondary programs and special topics and reporting findings in various formats in different types of reports while adhering to data non-disclosure rules. Please provide a link to a similarly scoped published report as an example. (Refer to attached Draft PWS for more information.)

Skill in working with Geographic Information System (GIS) maps (e.g., routine maintenance, limited enhancements, and annual updates). (Refer to attached Draft PWS for more information.)

Sufficient corporate capacity in terms of numbers of highly skilled staff. Interested parties should describe why they have or can easily obtain a sufficient number of highly skilled staff with knowledge to successfully complete the tasks and the level of effort required as outlined in the attached Draft PWS.

Capacity to obtain a restricted-use data license for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)/National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys. Ability to receive approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to access NCES survey data.

All questions in response to this RFI must be submitted in writing to the above contacts no later then Tuesday, February 2 by 4:00pm ET.