What Works Clearinghouse: Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation, and Evidence Reporting (WWC-PEPPER)

Amendment 001:

1. The vendor collaboration event will take place on Monday, April 25th at 10:00 AM EST. To join the WebEx, please link to or copy the following into your browser : https://educate.webex.com/mw3000/mywebex/default.do?service=1&siteurl=educate&nomenu=true&main_url=%2Fmc3000%2Fe.do%3Fsiteurl%3Deducate%26AT%3DMI%26EventID%3D429899157%26UID%3D0%26Host%3DQUhTSwAAAALOLm-0C9VuCHg_W1Rcxi7UL3PosDIx03H39WRH_Hlc1bxoFLM7TKoWY6CCBL7ihq8g1BLoE27rcpiA7YNzVSC10%26FrameSet%3D2%26MTID%3Dm609ea20fc1269e422ef3f18a73f174b5.

The meeting number is 743 164 306 and the password is WWCPEPPER.

For audio, join the meeting by phone at 800-779-1694.  The participant passcode is: 6451236."

This WebEx is limited to the first 100 participants. Participants are not required to pre-register for this event.

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is conducting market research to support a requirement for the What Works Clearinghouse: Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation, and Evidence Reporting Contract (WWC-PEPPER).  The tracking number for this procurement is iese160198ap, and the anticipated solicitation number is ED-IES-16-R-0014.  The anticipated release date for this solicitation is June or July 2016.  The draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) and draft Instructions to Offerors are attached.  This procurement is a recompete of ED-IES-12-C-0084 (prime contractor: Development Services Group, Inc.).  It is anticipated that ED-IES-16-R-0014 will be released as a solicitation on the "FedBizOpps" website https://www.fbo.gov/.  It is not known at this time whether this will be a full-and-open competition or a small business set-aside.  The planned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541720 ("Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities"; $20.5m size standard).

This announcement does not constitute a Request for Proposals, and the Department is not seeking proposals at this time.  Instead, the purpose of this announcement is for the Department to collect market research. The purpose of the Request for Information is to gather feedback on the draft PWS so that it may be improved prior to release of the solicitation.  The purpose of the Request for Capability Statements is to determine whether there is sufficient capability among the small business community to justify setting this procurement aside for small business competition only. 

****Vendor Engagement Webinar****

The Department anticipates hosting a Vendor Engagement Webinar on April 25, 2016 at 10:00AM EST.  We will update this announcement to confirm the time/date and provide registration details.