Consulting acuity tool research

The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN) is seeking consulting services to conduct comprehensive research on acuity assessment instruments for individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injuries. The primary objectives include conducting peer-reviewed research on existing assessment instruments, providing research-based recommendations for implementation, and offering technical assistance during pilot and implementation phases. Mandatory qualifications require offerors to have doctoral-level expertise in fields such as measurement, statistical analysis, evaluation, psychiatry, psychology, or psychometric training, with documented experience serving disability populations. The solicitation (Number 5400023438) originally scheduled the proposal due date for June 21, 2022, with a pre-proposal conference held virtually on June 1, 2022, and questions due by June 2, 2022. The evaluation criteria will assess four key areas: Background Qualifications (10 points), Approach (35 points), Pricing (40 points), and pricing considerations (20 points), totaling 100 possible points. The contract is anticipated to be for one year with a potential one-year renewal, covering the period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024.

The solicitation does not specify any specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. Prospective offerors must be registered as South Carolina vendors and comply with state certifications, including debarment, drug-free workplace, and ethics certifications. No incumbent vendor information is provided in the documentation. Contractors must be prepared to conduct a combination of virtual and in-person meetings, with the offeror responsible for outlining recommendations for in-person visits. While specific budget details are not explicitly stated, the solicitation requires offerors to submit fixed pricing for deliverables broken out by milestone, with a lump sum total and itemized travel expenses and reimbursable costs subject to specified maximum amounts. A HIPAA Business Associate Agreement is required as part of the proposal submission, indicating the sensitive nature of the work and the potential for handling protected health information. Vendors are not precluded from pursuing related evaluation and pilot project requests for proposals following this initial contract.