SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Economic Forecast for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
- Notice Date
- 4/8/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541910
— Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling
- Contracting Office
- USACE District, Memphis, 167 North Main Street, Rm B202, Memphis, TN 38103-1894
- ZIP Code
- 38103-1894
- Solicitation Number
- W912EQ11S0004
- Response Due
- 4/19/2011
- Archive Date
- 6/18/2011
- Point of Contact
- Jackie Primer, 1-901-544-3340
- E-Mail Address
-
USACE District, Memphis
(jackie.primer@mvm02.usace.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- W912EQ-11-S-0004 USACE Memphis District Economic Forecast for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. SOLICITATION, SPECIFICATIONS OR DRAWINGS ARE NOT AVAILABLE. RESPONSE DATE: April 19, 2011 NAICS: 541910 POINT OF CONTACT: Jackie.Primer@usace.army.mil Responses due NO Later than 4:30 p.m. central standard time April 19, 2011.This is a Sources Sought Notice is for informational purposes only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, QUOTATIONS OR BIDS. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, requests comments concerning its requirement for a contractor to provide economic forecasts for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) in accordance with the below Performance Work Statement. The government will consider these comments and plans to issue a formal solicitation in May 2011. Responses to this sources sought announcement will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this announcement, if the Government still plans to proceed with the acquisitions, and after approval of the associated acquisition plan, a solicitation announcement will be published in the Federal Business Opportunity for this requirement. NO SOLICITATION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. All interested offerors will have the opportunity to respond to solicitation announcements at a later time. This notice is to assist the Memphis District, Corps of Engineers in determining potential sources and to obtain industry comment on the Performance Work Statement. This sources sought announcement is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information solicited. Point of Contact Comments are to be sent either via email to Jackie.Primer@usace.army.mil or submit hard copy to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 167 N. Main Street B-202, Memphis, TN 38103 no later than 4:00 p.m. central standard time April 19, 2011. NO APPOINTMENTS OR TELEPHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Performance Work Statement (PWS): C-1.2 General Description C-1.2.1 The contractor shall provide economic forecasts and historical data for national, international, regional, state, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) economic, and Health Care indexes. These forecasts and historical data will be provided on a quarterly basis. The contractor shall also provide Health Care Premium forecasts on a semi-annual basis. The contractor shall provide technical expertise in the area of economic and demographic analysis. C-1.2.2 DCAA also must have access to forecasts made in prior years. Access to prior forecasts is required because DCAA must review some cost estimates after a contract is awarded, and sometimes, when completed. DCAA prefers this data be delivered in electronic format. C-1.2.3Forecasts furnished under this contract will be provided to all DCAA offices/auditors, currently totaling approximately 300 offices and 4,000 auditors. Individual forecasts will appear in DCAA's audit reports, whenever a contractor's assumptions are not considered reasonable, or are deemed necessary by the reporting office. C-1.2.4 Copies of the forecasts will not be provided outside DCAA, except as used in audit reports, as needed to support audit positions during discussions with contractors and DCAA's customers (Army, Navy, Air Force, NASA, etc.) or in other official written communications. Requests made to DCAA for economic factors must be written and accompanied by factors related to a specific procurement. Complete forecasts of all indices purchased, will never appear in audit reports nor be provided outside DCAA. C-1.2.5 The contractor shall participate in DCAA conferences and presentations to other organizations. No more than five conferences/presentations will be held annually. Conferences will most likely be held in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., or their vicinities. DCAA will provide the contractor a minimum of 30 days written notice. These services will be reimbursed upon delivery at the rate established under this contract Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulations, Volume 2. C-1.2.6 The contractor shall provide technical assistance in explaining forecasts to third parties (contractors and government contracting personnel). Such support may also include the determination of the proper index to escalate specific costs. The assistance may require a field visit, or a written technical position. No more than two written technical positions and two field visits are anticipated annually. These services will be reimbursed upon delivery at the rate established under this contract. When field visits require contractor travel, the travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulations, Volume 2. C-1.2.7 The contractor shall provide the forecasts to DCAA in an electronic format. C-1.2.8 The contractor shall make forecasts on a quarterly basis. The data contained in the forecasts shall be for a quarterly and annual horizon and shall include both the index level and period-to-period percent change. C-1.2.9 The contractor shall allow for technical inquiries by DCAA's Technical Support Branch. Such inquires may be for: a.An explanation of a particular forecast; b.A forecast update, if forecasts are prepared more frequently than quarterly; c.A forecast of an index, financial rate, country, state, region, MSA, or Health Care not in the package provided under the contract, or d.A past forecast for a particular index or rate. DCAA will make these inquires by telephone or E-mail. Responses normally should not take more than two hours to formulate. A telephone, E-mail, or FAX response is sufficient. Occasionally, one to two times a year, a formal written response may be required. C-1.2.10 The contractor shall provide technical support for its product. Support could include correcting Product errors, Product compatibility issues with DCAA equipment listed under paragraph 2.1.3, and Product web-site/internet problems (if applicable). Support for assistance related to DCAA equipment should not exceed two days effort per occurrence. Additional support beyond two days will be reimbursed upon delivery at the rate established under this contract. C-1.2.11 The contractor shall assist DCAA with economic studies, court testimony, and discussions with contractor and government procurement personnel. These services will be reimbursed upon delivery at the rate established under this contract. C-1.2.12 The contractor shall have the ability to develop forecasts for national and international economic concepts that are not currently part of the contractor's database when there are sufficient historical data for the concept. C-1.2.13 As the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes economic data using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), DCAA expects the contractor to use the NAICS. C-1.214 The contractor shall allow DCAA to describe the services provided, in detail, in DCAA's pamphlet DCAAP 7641.74, "Use of Economic Indexes in Contract Audits." The contractor will be given the opportunity to comment on the pamphlet before it is distributed; however, DCAA is the final authority on the contents of the pamphlet. A copy of the final pamphlet will be provided to the contractor. The pamphlet will be provided to all DCAA offices shortly after the award in an electronic format through the DCAA Intranet. Appropriate acknowledgments will be provided in the pamphlet. C-1.2.15 Material over which DCAA controls distribution (printed and Intranet) that contains any contractor sensitive material will be accompanied by a statement limiting copying and distribution of those portions outside DCAA without the contractor's written consent. If the pamphlet contains contractor sensitive data, DCAA will obtain the contractor's written approval before distributing it outside DCAA. C-1.2.16 Electronically distributed material that DCAA cannot control (such as the Intranet) will not contain any material that the contractor considers sensitive without the contractor's written consent. C-1.2.17 The contractor shall allow DCAA to continue to use the product and distribute all forecasts provided during period of contract performance and after contract completion. Continued use of the product and forecasts is essential so DCAA can substantiate forecasts used in published audit reports and review contractor cost estimates after costs have been incurred. Use and distribution will continue to be guided by the guidelines described in these specifications. C-2. DELIVERABLES: C-2.1 Software C-2.1.2 Forecasts and historical data required by paragraphs 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, and 2.6 must be submitted or available to DCAA in an electronic format. All Products provided must run under WINDOWS XP Professional, Vista, Windows7, or any subsequent upgrades that DCAA may acquire. Electronic data (Forecasts and historical) must be accessible using the offeror's product, except as otherwise noted in paragraph 2.5.5. C-2.1.3 The Product providing the forecast and historical data (paragraph 2.2.2) must: a.Function on desktop or portable computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system that is widely available to the general public and is used by DCAA at time of award. Currently DCAA uses Dell computers, Intel dual core chips, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive, and windows (XP Pro, Vista, and Windows7) OS. b.Function on a Local Area Network (LAN) system. c.Be completely menu driven. d.Require less than 10 MB of disk space (software and data) [preferred size]. e.Be Windows enabled software (not DOS). f.Allow access to forecasts by index or keyword/character string. g.Allow printing of the selected forecasts and the creation of an EXCEL file. It is preferred that the Product automatically opens Excel and creates the print file. It is acceptable for the Product to create a file that can be imported into Excel as long as the file requires minimal formatting changes before printing. h.Allow the creation of composite indexes (i.e., an index created by weighting two or more existing indexes together). Allow the composite index to be saved, along with its components, for future use. i.The Product should identify when each forecast was made, by country, MSA, State, and Region, as appropriate. If existing Product does not provide for such identification, the contractor should present a plan for accomplishing this requirement with an implementation by the second forecast provided to DCAA. C-2.1.4 If during the performance of this contract DCAA upgrades to a newer version of Windows, the contractor shall ensure that the Product will operate under the Windows upgrade. The contractor shall make any Product modifications needed to make the Product compatible with the upgrade at no additional cost. C-2.1.5 The same Product must be used to access all forecasts provided under paragraphs 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, and 2.6. C-2.1.6 The contractor shall provide initial training to selected DCAA employees in the use of the Product provided in response to paragraph 2.1.3 no later than 60 days after receipt of notice of award. The training will also cover the proper use of the data obtained under paragraphs 2.2 through 2.6. Training shall be conducted in the following locations: Baltimore, MD Irving, TX LaMirada, CA Lowell, MA Smyrna, GA C-2.1.7 Not more than 20 people will attend each training session. This training is in addition to the conferences/presentations required by paragraph 1.1.5. Costs will be reimbursed upon delivery at the rate established under the contract. C-2.1.8 The contractor shall provide DCAA its Users Guide for the software being provided to DCAA no later than 30 days after receipt of notice of award. The User's Guide must be in a Microsoft WORD (DOC) format or ADOBE (PDF) format. C-2.1.9 The contractor shall provide DCAA a list of all indexes included with the software/data provided in response to this solicitation. The list will be in electronic format as a Microsoft ACCESS, EXCEL, or WORD file. C-2.1.10The contractor shall allow DCAA to describe the Product and how to use the Product to access the forecasts provided to DCAA in DCAA's pamphlet, "Use of Economic Indexes in Contract Audits" (DCAAP 7641.74) and/or other documents deem necessary by DCAA (paragraph 2.1.12 concerning sensitive material) and allow DCAA to make copies of and distribute such copies, as necessary. Otherwise, the contractor will provide two copies of the offeror(s)' Users Guide that is normally provided with the software to each DCAA office and sub-office. The contractor shall be required to distribute the copies as directed by DCAA's Technical Support Branch. A list of all indexes will be included with the User's Guide. C-2.1.11The contractor shall provide all necessary support necessary to get the contractor's Product functioning on DCAA's PCs and Local Area Network (LAN) at no additional cost to DCAA. C-2.2. National Economic Indexes C-2.2.1 The contractor shall provide a trend or cyclic forecast for national economic indexes including: Average Hourly Earnings (AHEs), Consumer Price Indexes (CPIs), Employment Cost Indexes (ECIs), and Producer Price Indexes (PPIs). Other wage and price indices will be considered. C-2.2.2 The contractor shall provide only price and wage indexes. Forecasts for non-price and wage indexes, such as housing starts, work force employment and unemployment, will not be provided. C-2.2.3 The contractor shall provide a brief description of the forecast assumptions in a WORD document each quarter. The description shall be the same as appears in the contractor's published documents. It is expected that the forecast discussion will cover broad economic sectors (aerospace, steel, electronic components, etc.), not individual indexes or just the whole forecast. C-2.2.4 The contractor shall provide DCAA a list of the national economic indexes to be provided. The list should be in an ACCESS or EXCEL file. At any time during the contract, the contractor may replace indexes (e.g., change from commodity based to producer based) so long as the same is done for all customers. If indexes are replaced, DCAA should be notified and provided a list of those indexes in the format just described. Whenever an index is replaced or deleted, DCAA should also be told which index being provided is the best proxy for the index eliminated. C-2.3 International Economic Indexes C-2.3.1 The contractor shall provide forecasts for major international countries and geographic areas. C-2.3.2 International economic indices shall include at least the following indices: wages, CPI, PPI, and Wholesale Price Index (WPI). C-2.3.3.The contractor shall also forecast an exchange rate for the international countries. C-2.3.4. The contractor shall not provide non-price and non-wage forecasts. C-2.3.5 The contractor shall provide a brief description of the forecast assumptions in a WORD document each quarter. The description will be the same as that appearing in the contractor's published documents. It is expected that the forecast discussion will cover broad economic sectors (e.g., aerospace, steel, electronic components, etc.), not individual indexes or just the whole forecast. C-2.3.6 The contractor shall provide DCAA a list of the international economic indexes to be provided. The list should be in an ACCESS or EXCEL file. At any time during the contract, the contractor may replace indexes (e.g., change from commodity based to producer based) so long as the same is done for all customers. If indexes are replaced, DCAA should be notified and provided a list of those indexes in the format just described. Whenever an index is replaced or deleted, DCAA will also be told which index being provided is the best proxy for the index eliminated. C-2.3.7 Contractor shall indicate the frequency that each country is forecast as part of its quarterly reporting. Quarterly forecast updates will be considered more favorably than less frequent updates. C-2.4 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) C-2.4.1 The contractor shall provide forecasts of the major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) electronically. C-2.4.2 MSA indices shall include the following: wage indices, ECI, CPI, PPI, and related indices. C-2.4.3 MSAs can be consolidated if logically grouped: Los Angeles and Anaheim; but not St. Louis and Kansas City. C-2.4.4 The contractor shall provide only price and wage forecasts. C-2.4.5 The contractor shall provide a brief description of the forecast assumptions in a WORD document each quarter. The description should be the same as that appearing in the contractor's published documents. It is expected that the forecast discussion will cover broad economic sectors (e.g., aerospace, steel, electronic components, etc.), not individual indexes or just the whole forecast. C-2.4.6 The contractor shall provide DCAA a list of the MSA economic indexes to be provided. The list should be in an ACCESS or EXCEL file. At any time during the contract, the contractor may replace indexes (e.g., change from commodity based to producer based) so long as the same is done for all customers. If indexes are replaced, DCAA should be notified and provided a list of those indexes in the format just described. Whenever an index is replaced or deleted, DCAA should also be told which index being provided is the best proxy for the index eliminated. C-2.4.7 Offerors will indicate the frequency that each MSA is forecast as part of its quarterly reporting. Quarterly forecast updates will be considered more favorably than less frequent updates. C-2.5 Regional and State Forecasts C-2.5.1 The contractor shall provide forecasts for each state. The contractor shall provide at least a CPI, PPI, and a labor index for each state. C-2.5.2 If the contractor makes forecasts for collective states (regions), the contractor shall provide at least a CPI, PPI, and labor index for each region. C-2.5.3 It is anticipated that more price and wage indexes will forecast at the state and region level than at the MSA level. The indexes provided for state forecasts will include the same index forecast at the MSA level for MSAs within the state. Similarly, the region forecasts will include all the indexes forecast at the state level. C-2.5.4 The contractor shall provide a brief description of the forecast assumptions in a WORD document each quarter. The description will be the same as that appearing in the contractor's published documents. It is expected that the forecast discussion will cover broad economic sectors (e.g., aerospace, steel, electronic components, etc.), not individual indexes or just the whole forecast. C-2.5.5 The contractor shall provide DCAA a list of the regional and state economic indexes to be provided. The list will be in an ACCESS or EXCEL file. At any time during the contract, the contractor may replace indexes (e.g., change from commodity based to producer based) so long as the same is done for all customers. If indexes are replaced, DCAA will be notified and provided a list of those indexes in the format just described. Whenever an index is replaced or deleted, DCAA will also be told which index being provided is the best proxy for the index eliminated. C-2.5.6 Offerors should indicate the frequency that each Region/State is forecast as part of its quarterly reporting. Quarterly forecast updates will be considered more favorably than less frequent updates. C-2.6. Health Benefits C-2.6.1 The contractor shall provide a trend or cyclic forecast for health care indexes: Average Hourly Earnings (AHEs), Consumer Price Indexes (CPIs), Employment Cost Indexes (ECIs), and Producer Price Indexes (PPIs), and Medicare Economic Index (MEIs).. C-2.6.2 Health care forecasts will consider inpatient, outpatient, and prescription drug costs. Forecasts will consider utilization, inflation, cost shifting, HMO, and other cost containment effects. C-2.6.3 The contractor shall provide a brief description of the forecast assumptions in a WORD document each quarter. The description will be the same as that in the contractor's published documents. C-2.6.4 The contractor shall provide DCAA a list of the health care indexes to be provided. The list will be in an ACCESS or EXCEL file. At any time during the contract, the contractor may replace indexes (e.g., change from commodity based to producer based) so long as the same is done for all customers. If indexes are replaced, DCAA will be notified and provided a list of those indexes in the format just described. Whenever an index is replaced or deleted, DCAA will also be told which index being provided is the best proxy for the index eliminated. C-2.7 Health Care Premium Forecasts C-2.7.1 The contractor shall provide detailed econometrically based health care premium forecasts to evaluate contractor price proposals covering multiple years. These forecasts shall be updated no less than semi-annually (Spring and Fall). C-2.7.2 The contractor shall provide a written report in PDF format containing: (1) Analysis of current and emerging health-care issues highlighting key planning and negotiating issues; (2) Quantification of the key drivers that are pushing these costs (Near-Term utilization, cost sharing, health insurance coverage and provider cost pressures; Medium-Term profitability of U.S. health insurers, provider cost pressures and economic environment; Long-Term technology and economic environment); (3) Detailed discussion of the key underlying baseline forecast assumptions; (4) Market segmentation highlighting differences by coverage type (family or individual) by plan type (conventional, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), Point of Service (POS), by region (Northeast, South, West and Midwest) and by company size and for active and retired workers. C-2.7.3 The contractor shall provide data tables containing history and proprietary ten-year forecast of benefit premiums and their component costs in Excel format. C-2.7.4 The contractor shall provide semi-annual forecast updates incorporating recurring data revisions within a dynamic economic and public policy landscape. C-2.7.5 The contractor shall provide webcasts addressing topical health legislation and market condition implications. C-2.7.6 The contractor shall provide access to its staff of experts. C-2.8 Delivery - General C-2.8.1 The contractor shall provide DCAA with a schedule of when the forecasts are made and when the deliveries are to be made for each quarterly forecast. The schedule will be provided at time of award and by 15 January of each calendar year. DCAA shall be promptly notified if the contractor changes the schedule. The schedule shall be provided as a Word or Excel file. C-2.8.2 Forecasts and historical data shall be delivered in an electronic format. The contractor's product shall be available to all DCAA offices/auditors. The contractor's product or complete data file will not be provided to other governmental organizations or contractors. C-2.8.3 Electronic deliveries are required no later than 10 business days after the forecast is made (as scheduled for the forecast date in paragraph 2.8.1). Deviations may be approved by the contracting officer 30 days in advance. C-2.8.4 The contractor will only be reimbursed 5 percent of the line item value for untimely forecasts, which are those forecasts delivered more than 20 days past the forecast date in the schedule required by paragraph 2.8.1 C-2.8.5 Delivery of forecast/historical data will be made electronically using a method compatible with DCAA software, security controls, and internet capabilities. Possible methods include email and internet downloads. C-2.8.6 DCAA reserves the right to change the delivery locations at any time after award, without charge. C-2.8.7One set of forecast and historical data for national; international; state, region, metropolitan statistical area, and health benefits must be provided to the E-mail address shown below on a quarterly basis within the time constraints in paragraph 2.1.8. (TO BE SPECIFIED BY DCAA-OTST PERSONNEL) C-3 REQUIREMENTS C-3.1 General Requirements C-3.1.1 Contractor must have at least five years experience forecasting the economic data similar to that required by this solicitation. C-3.1.2 Time spent by economists on equivalent work for an organization other than the offering company will not qualify for the five-year experience requirement. However, firms formed by consolidation will be considered if the key economists are still employed and the new entity stands behind and owns the forecasts of the former organization. C-3.1.3 The use of subcontractors/teaming arrangements is permissible as long as the companies forming the contractual relationship individually meet the requirements of paragraphs 3.1.1 and 3.1.2. C-3.1.4 Contractor's forecasts for requirements in paragraphs 2.2 through 2.6 must cover a 10-year forecast and 10 years of historical data (actual economic change) The 20 year window (10 years of forecast data and 10 years of historical data) will move forward as each option year maybe exercised. C-3.1.5A working Product and the documentation that will be used to support this solicitation must be provided with the contractor's price proposal. C-3.1.6 Offerors will not create indexes to support this solicitation. Only indexes that the offeror currently forecasts are acceptable C-3.1.7Offerors will indicate the frequency that each MSA is forecast if other than quarterly. If other than quarterly, offerors will indicate the month(s) the forecast is updated for each MSA. The NAICS Code is 541910 with a size standard of $7.0M. The Government plan to award a contract for a base year and four option periods for this requirement. The Government request offerors to submit capability information which demonstrates ability to forecast economic data similar to that required by the above Performance Work Statement. This information includes but is not limited to: 1. Actual documents and files to be used to meet forecast requirements (i.e. via CD-Rom, electronic copies, internet link, etc). 2. Complete list of all indexes (National, International, and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) intended to be used to meet the requirements of the solicitation). 3. Past Experience information that demonstrates ability to meet requirements of PWS. Comments will be shared with the government personnel, but otherwise will be held in strict confidence. Offerors submitting comments may also request to discuss their comments directly with the government. Comments may be in a format as chosen by each offeror, but must include the offerors, name, point of contact and phone number. In preparing the formal solicitation, the government makes no commitment to retain all of the elements/provisions of this PWS and may include different elements/provisions in the formal solicitation. The responses to this SOURCES SOUGHT synopsis are to be forwarded to: Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, Attn: CECT-MVM (Jackie Primer), 167 N. Main Street B-202 Memphis, TN 38103. Responses must be received no later than Tuesday, 19 April 2011 by 4:00 P.M., CST.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USA/COE/DACA66/W912EQ11S0004/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USACE District, Memphis 167 North Main Street, Rm B202, Memphis TN
- Zip Code: 38103-1894
- Zip Code: 38103-1894
- Record
- SN02420527-W 20110410/110408234533-e0ee963afca6ad3058c0ef369312e798 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |