SC Adult and Youth Tobacco Surveys

The South Carolina Department of Public Health, through the Fiscal Accountability Authority, is requesting proposals for electronic and online surveys measuring adult and youth tobacco use, with proposals due October 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET. The vendor must demonstrate a minimum of five years of experience administering population-based surveys among youth and adults, with demonstrated expertise in electronic surveys, web-panels, address-based sampling, small-area estimation modeling, school-based surveys (particularly Youth Tobacco Survey), and state or federal public health surveillance contracts—a restrictive qualification filter.

The scope requires developing an address-based sampling version of the Adult Tobacco Survey targeting 1,600 to 2,000 annual completions (800 to 1,000 probability-based and 800 to 1,000 non-probability) and administering electronic surveys to a minimum of 1,500 high school students from 50 randomly selected schools. The vendor must demonstrate capacity to include middle school students (grades 6–8) but shall not initiate survey activities with this population until receiving written authorization from DPH. Data collection is scheduled for 2027, 2029, and 2031 for the Youth Tobacco Survey and 2028 and 2030 for the Adult Tobacco Survey.

The maximum contract value is $975,000 over five years: $675,000 for base scope (Adult Tobacco Survey and high school Youth Tobacco Survey) and up to an additional $300,000 for middle school Youth Tobacco Survey if authorized. The contract runs January 1, 2027 through November 31, 2031, with an initial one-year term and four optional one-year renewals. Proposals exceeding the maximum cap will be deemed non-responsive.

Evaluation weights are Technical Approach and Work Plan (45 points), Experience/Resources/Knowledge/Capacity and Staff Qualifications (30 points), and Price (25 points). A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference is scheduled for September 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET (virtual). Questions are due September 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET. Award is anticipated for December 7, 2026. Vendors must be registered with the South Carolina vendor registration system and possess all required state vendor numbers prior to submission.