SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- NATIONAL EVALUATION OF WIC NUTRITION EDUCATION
- Notice Date
- 5/29/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Contract Management Branch, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 228, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302
- ZIP Code
- 22302
- Solicitation Number
- AG-3198-S-12-0034
- Archive Date
- 6/26/2012
- Point of Contact
- Christina Carter-Kurant, Phone: 7033052265
- E-Mail Address
-
christina.carter-kurant@fns.usda.gov
(christina.carter-kurant@fns.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NATIONAL EVALUATION OF WIC NUTRITION EDUCATION This is a Sources Sought Notice for market research purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). A solicitation is not being issued at this time and this notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. Small businesses are highly encouraged to respond. The Office of Research and Analysis (ORA) in the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) intends to issue a competitive procurement for a contractor to conduct a National Evaluation of WIC Nutrition Education. Since 1974, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) has provided supplemental food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to health services to low-income pregnant, postpartum women; infants; and children up to age five. The program was designed to improve birth outcomes, improve the health and development of infants and young children, and increase access to other needed health and social services. Federal regulations require that all WIC nutrition education comply with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and promote breastfeeding as the optimal infant feeding choice. A major study to assess the effectiveness of WIC nutrition education has not occurred since the 1999 WIC Nutrition Education Assessment. Though its report presented some promising findings about innovative WIC services, in 2004 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) expressed concerns about the methodological limitations of FNS' evaluation of WIC nutrition education and made recommendations that USDA collect data on the nutrition education provided by each program and the outcomes of these programs to identify best practices, disseminate lessons learned, and craft a longer-term evaluation strategy. FNS seeks information on the capabilities of potential Offerors to conduct a study with the following objectives. Anticipated objectives are as follows: OBJECTIVE 1: Provide a nationally-representative description of the major nutrition education processes actually used in WIC, the frequency of use of these processes, and the distribution of use of these processes (geographically, by participant category, by risk and other factors, by local agency characteristics [e.g., size; staffing ratio, etc.], by LWA staff factors [e.g., profession, years experience in WIC, etc.]). OBJECTIVE 2: Conduct a WIC Nutrition Education evaluation pilot study with a case study component to evaluate the impact of WIC nutrition education on WIC women's and children's dietary and physical activity habits. OBJECTIVE 3: Develop an OMB Clearance Package for a larger nationally-representative evaluation of WIC nutrition education's impact on WIC women's and children's dietary and physical activity habits. ANTICIPATED DATA SOURCES The study will likely use survey data, follow up interview data, and potentially document review in local and State WIC agencies. The anticipated data sources are: • Survey Data. The offeror shall be responsible for designing a survey with a sampling approach that provides nationally-representative data at the State and local WIC agency level. The latter two categories will be divided into Large, Medium, and Small categories. • Follow up interviews/document review. The offeror will be responsible for conducting case studies in a subsample of states or local agencies to examine the processes of WIC Nutrition Education in greater detail. These will include interviews with staff and document review. CAPABILITY STATEMENT INFORMATION As a prospective offeror you are being asked to demonstrate your experience, skills, and qualifications with projects of similar scope and size completed within the last three (3) years, and explain in appropriate detail how you intend to show competency in each of the following points (A) through (M). Expound, utilizing specific examples, on how your firm has undertaken and/or demonstrated the prerequisites listed below: (A) Detailed understanding of WIC, including intricate regulations, Federal policies, and State waivers. (B) Detailed understanding of WIC Nutrition Education, including knowledge of relevant intricate literature and WIC Nutrition Education Guidance. (C) Experience in conducting nationally-representative surveys from instrument design through data collection, analysis, and reporting, with sampling techniques that would enable overall averages and averages for subgroups. (D) Experience in conducting qualitative interviews in multiple sites with over fifty (50) respondents, including recruiting and training staff to conduct the interviews, using appropriate sampling methodologies, developing interview protocols, recruiting participants, and recording, coding, analyzing, and reporting on qualitative data. (E) Employing a dedicated project director who can deliver high quality work, adhere to project schedules, keep costs within budget, manage the work of many professionals on many tasks simultaneously, and contribute knowledge and understanding of FNS programs. (F) Employing staff experienced in highly technical sampling techniques and the development of corresponding sample weights for complex sample designs to obtain nationally-representative samples of FNS programs and/or participants. (G) Employing staff experienced with developing comprehensive national study designs to address numerous complex interrelated research questions, questionnaires for computer assisted data collection or hard-copy completion, and OMB Information Collection Packages. (H) Employing experienced survey managers who can recruit a sufficient number of capable data collectors to provide information nationwide and over a short period of time; train and monitor data collectors' performance to collect high quality data and minimize non-response. (I) Employing experienced data collectors and interviewers who are proficient at collecting information from a wide variety of sources (e.g., State agencies, local agencies, data, etc.) using a variety of data collection techniques (e.g., CATI/CAPI data collection, on-site observation, record abstraction, etc.). (J) Employing staff with demonstrated proficiency in using analytic methods, including qualitative data analysis, mathematical modeling, multivariate regression analysis; and descriptive and inferential statistics. Staff with proficiency in manipulating large complex databases, using mainstream software packages, synthesizing results from multiple research sources, performing literature searches and reviews, conducting complex analyses; statistical adjustment for complex sample design; imputation; non-response bias analysis and correction; and creating complex, large scale databases accessible to any proficient database programmer. (K) Employing staff who have the necessary skills and experience to produce high quality, well edited reports and briefs which may be targeted to technical readers or to policy officials. Staff who can produce briefing materials (including PowerPoint presentations) and present study findings for technical and/or policy staff. (L) Ensuring Personally-Identifiable Information (PII) is secured and protected. (M) Managing projects of a similar size and scope, including meeting government objectives, ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables, and coordinating with the government funding agency. To be deemed capable, interested offerors must submit capability statements that clearly demonstrate their ability to perform ALL elements of the requirements as described in this notice. DO NOT SEND IN GENERIC CAPABILITY STATEMENTS!!! ADDRESS THE SPECIFICS OF THE REQUEST. The Statement of Capabilities should also include : • Contractor Name • Address • Point of Contact (POC) • POC phone number and email address • DUNS number, and • Business status (i.e., large/small business, disadvantaged, Hub Zone, woman-owed, etc.) Small business should identify: • The 51% of the work that they will accomplish along with their projected teaming arrangements (GSA schedule), joint venture, or subcontracting arrangements. • Concerns they have with the sources sought which would prevent them from proposing on the project. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this sources sought synopsis is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of offeror submission of responses, or the Government's use of such information. The information obtained from responses to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and future RFP. No questions will be entertained or comment responded to by the Government. Offerors capable of providing these services should submit the information requested above via e-mail to Christina Carter-Kurant at christina.carter-kurant@fns.usda.gov no later than 6PM Eastern Daylight Time, Monday, June 11, 2012 Limit the length of the packages to 20 pages. Packages over 20 pages will not be evaluated.
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