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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF AUGUST 09, 2013 FBO #4276
SOLICITATION NOTICE

B -- Customer Feedback Information on NIDA’s Choose Your Path Videos

Notice Date

8/7/2013
 

Notice Type

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
 

NAICS

541910 — Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling
 

Contracting Office

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 31 Center Drive, Room 1B59, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
 

ZIP Code

20892
 

Solicitation Number

RFQRC2013-2
 

Archive Date

9/5/2013
 

Point of Contact

Robert M. Christopher, Phone: 3014023812
 

E-Mail Address

robert.christopher@nih.gov
(robert.christopher@nih.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Background The Office of Science Policy and Communications, (OSPC), at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), has a requirement for Program Support Services to assist with information collection for the NIDA for Teens Website. Dissemination and use of research results is a critical component of the Institute's mission - Executive Order 12862 directs federal agencies to provide significant services directly to the public. NIDA complies with this Executive Order with several different electronic and other dissemination programs, and in 2011 it launched PEERx, a web-based national public education initiative to help teenagers understand the harms of prescription drug abuse and to empower them to make healthy choices in difficult situations of their daily lives. PEERx is a resource that includes multiple web-based fact sheets and activities, and two innovative Choose Your Path interactive videos that allow young viewers to determine the outcome of a storyline related to prescription drug abuse. This initiative is a program of the Public Information and Liaison Branch (PILB) of the NIDA Office of Science Policy and Communications (0SPC). These videos are viewed on average 10,000 times per month. The objective of this study is to examine if these videos are an appealing and effective method for communicating to youth the risks associated with prescription drug abuse, if they are similarly effective among different demographic youth groups, what would enhance their effectiveness, whether there are any unintended effects, and if this video teaching approach in information dissemination is a good use of resources. The support services will be provided to the NIDA Office of Science Policy and Communications Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) for this information collection and the tasks associated with it. The information will be collected from teachers and students of participating High Schools. The tasks of this service will include the preparation and use of three protocols to collect the information; tasks for recruitment of schools and the consent process using the study consent forms, up to two waves of recruitment as needed to obtain an adequate number of schools and participants; administration of two e-surveys, with provision of IT support services for all activities related to launching the survey sites, monitoring the sites while web-surveys are live for respondent ID integrity and login security, site-access troubleshooting during information collection period; technical support to respondents during the time the surveys are live; conduct of three focus groups (two out of state and one local); data download and data cleansing and preparation with appropriate formatting for analysis; conduct of descriptive analyses of the data, and support for the conduct of descriptive analyses as needed by the COTR; writing of periodic progress reports for internal reporting; support in the writing of the final report; format preparation of the report as needed and which will include data tables for the report. The COTR may present the report to NIDA staff, and for this Contractor will provide assistance with preparation of a PowerPoint presentation. Contractor will propose a timeline for the completion of all tasks of the study. Scope of Work The Contractor must have a thorough understanding of NIH policies and procedures and adhere to Government policies and requirements for data collection, reporting, and data preparation, a familiarity with this NIDA site or working experience with other NIDA dissemination site and materials, and the experience in applying methods of information collection to the requirements of a dissemination program with interactive videos. Independently the Contractor must provide own equipment and premises for all services provided. The contractor shall perform the following tasks: Task 1 - Recruitment of schools for study participation Contractor must demonstrate the ability to conduct all activities for recruiting schools and their teachers and students for study participation. Activities will include the following: up-front solicitation of the schools available from the NIDA database of Chat Day schools, selection of schools wishing to participate and obtaining their signed participation consent (selection will need to be random or purposive depending on the volume of schools agreeing to participation), obtaining of signed agreement and consent forms from the schools that will include granting of use of school computer(s) facilities for survey participation, and monitoring of students during use of these school facilities for survey participation; as well as assistance with obtaining all participants' consent from each school; signed agreement and consent for teachers' participation, obtaining parent consent and student's assent or consent for students' participation; obtaining participation consent from three schools for conduct of the focus groups with provision of a space on the premises to hold the focus group discussions. Activities will require maintaining a working relationship with the schools to ensure that the survey participation activities and focus group participation activities are conducted successfully. Contractor will be expected to conduct up to two subsequent waves of participant recruitment as needed to maintain the desired number of participants should schools withdraw from participation, or should non-responses in the surveys appear to be very high and necessitate replacements. Meeting with the COTR during the course of the study will be conducted over the phone, as necessary. The Contractor will provide a work plan and schedule for completion of each task. The Contractor may request a first meeting at the NIDA premises to discuss the logistics of the work. Task 2 - Information collection from primary sources Contractor must demonstrate knowledge and expertise in methods of categorizing the survey information meaningfully for the study purpose; and knowledge and expertise for the conduct of all activities of this task. Contractor will administer the surveys, and must have knowledge and capability in the methodological and theoretical requirements of survey data collection, and quantitative and qualitative analysis of the information; technical ability in uploading and administering e-surveys; preparation, processing, and managing of survey results; and all necessary activities for methodologically correct development, implementation, and conduct of e-survey information collection to serve the study purpose successfully and efficiently. Contractor must demonstrate knowledge and expertise in information collection from focus groups, development of a focus group discussion guide, and categorizing the information collected meaningfully for the study purpose. Contractor will draft the focus group discussion guide for NIDA staff to review; will finalize the guide; will work on logistics for the focus group discussions with the three schools that agree to participate in a focus group, and must have knowledge and capability in the methodological and theoretical requirements of focus group information collection, and qualitative analysis of the information, and all necessary logistics for methodologically correct development, implementation, and conduct of focus groups to serve the study purpose successfully and efficiently. Contractor will conduct the focus group discussions using a Moderator or Leader who is experienced in group discussion and information collection, preferably with youth groups. Contractor is expected to present a plan for the focus group module of information collection, develop the guide that the moderator will use, present a plan to describe the logistics of implementing the sessions with students, and provide suggestions for selection criteria for schools for the focus group collection. Contractor will be expected to interact with the schools for their participation. In developing the plan and the guide for the focus group Contractor will provide rationale or the approach in eliciting information that will elucidate/augment/emphasize the survey information. The plan and guide may be submitted to the NIDA COTR for review and feedback. Task 3 - Preparation of the OMB Clearance Package Contractor must develop screenshots of the surveys in time for the OMB clearance submission, so that conduct of information collection, data preparation and analysis, and the remaining tasks for study completion do not exceed the contract period. The OMB Fast Track clearance process will be used. Contractor will also provide a copy of the focus group discussion guide or guides if more than one is needed due to location chosen, for the OMB package. Contractor must prepare all consent and assent forms. These may be submitted to NIDA in draft form, for review. Contractor will obtain IRB approval for the study from a certified IRB Board. The IRB approval letter is needed for the OMB submission. Task 4 - Administration of the e-protocols, with provision of all services for this activity Contractor must have demonstrated the ability and expertise to conduct all the IT functions necessary for the survey task, to include for example, successful upload of surveys, a secure log-in system, functional configuration of the system to maintain integrity of responses from each participant, management of the information collection, monitoring the electronic information collection, providing all IT support for access to and use of the site during the period the surveys are live, maintaining respondent information secure during the survey period, and stored after in-take in a facility secure enough to meet the Government requirements for protection and confidentiality of personally identifiable information if such information is collected. Previous experience with the NIDA Teen site, and in information collection to improve an electronic dissemination site, will be preferred. Contractor will also be expected to conduct up to two subsequent waves of participant recruitment as needed to maintain the desired number of survey participants should schools withdraw from participation or should non-responses appear to be very high and replacements are needed (as indicated in Task 1 above). All steps for this task are to be conducted in the correct sequence and scheduling to launch the surveys with timeliness, and to complete information collection effectively in the period the survey is live, and the schools are in session, and adequate participation has been achieved. Contractor will write a description of the implementation and conduct of this task at its completion, for review by NIDA COTR, within two weeks of completion of the task. It can be included in the internal progress reporting (described in Task 8) and will be used in the Final Report of the project. Task 5 - Survey Data download and preparation for analyses Contractor must demonstrate the ability and expertise to download the survey information from respondent forms and prepare it for descriptive analyses. This will include for example, developing forms/ formats for data download; downloading the data; developing a system for data reliability checks; ascertaining which response forms have aberrations that would warrant exclusion of the form; formatting the data for analyses, with meaningful tabulations, in Excel worksheets. Contractor must have at least two persons involved in data download to cross-check the information between them, for internal reliability of the information. The data will be analyzed in the aggregate, using descriptive methods. These descriptive methods could include for example, simple enumeration, calculation of means, scaling, content analysis, and other methods needed, statistical testing as applicable. Contractor must demonstrate knowledge and experience in these methods in order to prepare the data for these analyses. The formatting of the data will be guided by the thread of relevance through the study questions and to the content of the questionnaires. Contractor will assist in conduct of the analyses. Contractor will provide a draft description of the data preparation and categorizing for analysis, within two weeks of completion of the questionnaire development, for review by the NIDA study staff. This description will be part of the internal reporting, and could be used in the Final Report of the project. Contractor may be asked to provide data downloaded from the first 2 weeks of information collection from students for initial review by NIDA project staff. This data review will be helpful in deciding the selection of schools for focus group participation, and the focus these discussions should take. Task 6 - Focus Groups Data Collection and Preparation for Analysis Contractor will work with NIDA project staff to select 3 schools from those agreeing to participate in the focus groups. This could include review of the early data for any insights on areas of information to be emphasized in discussion. Contractor must demonstrate the ability and expertise to conduct focus groups among high school youth, to record the information from the discussion and prepare it for meaningful analysis. To achieve quality assurance for the focus groups' information Contractor is expected to use an experienced focus group facilitator or group leader, and an experienced note taker that will take notes from the discussions, to provide a second recording resource. Contractor is expected to record the discussions. Contractor will cross-check the information among these different versions to resolve aberrations or to clarify the information as necessary. Contractor will travel the Focus Group Moderator and Note taker to the schools selected for participation. Contractor will prepare the information for analysis. The information will be transcribed into a worksheet for descriptive analysis. Contractor will organize the information into meaningful categories using the same thread of relevance through the study questions and to the content of the survey questions and the focus group guide. Efforts must be made to display the information for clarifying, matching, complementing, corroborating the information from the surveys. And also to display any contradicting information. Task 7 - Assistance with descriptive data analyses and preparation of data for reporting Contractor must have knowledge and methodological expertise to conduct analyses of the data and present summary results in a meaningful presentation. The Contractor will provide substantive assistance for presentation of the quantitative and qualitative analyses. Contractor will work with COTR and NIDA staff to conduct analyses and preparation of the data for reporting, upon completion of Tasks 5 and 6. Weekly telephone calls for discussion may be needed for successful completion of this task. Task 8 - Preparation of the final report with some writing and format preparation Contractor must have experience in writing and preparation of study reports, with data tables and PowerPoint formatting. Activities will include assisting with writing the final report to include writing a section of the report on administration of the e-surveys, conducting revisions as needed, preparing results from data analysis for presentation in the report. The report will include recommendations for improvement of and/or increasing the number of, PEERx videos. The COTR will present the report in-house upon completion of the study, and Contractor will assist with development of the presentation. Contractor will compile all sections of the report into final format. Contractor will prepare a draft PowerPoint presentation for review with COTR. Contractor will make revisions after NIDA review, and submit for presentation. Task 9 - Preparation of periodic progress reports for internal reporting Contractor must have experience in writing concise reports on progress of the study. Contractor will prepare progress reports for internal reporting to be submitted on the 10th day of every second month from the study start date November 2013. The progress report will include recommendations for whatever changes might be necessary for improving the study as it progresses. Section 508 Compliance The contractor shall guarantee strict confidentiality of the information/data that is provided by the Government during the performance of this contract. Contractor shall not release, publish, or disclose sensitive information to unauthorized personnel, and shall protect such information in accordance with provisions of the following laws and any other pertinent laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of sensitive information: 18 U.S.C. 641 (Criminal Code: Public Money, Property or Records) - 18 U.S.C. 1905 (Criminal Code: Disclosure of Confidential Information) - Public Law 96-511 (Paperwork Reduction Act). Disclosure of the information/data, in whole or in part, by Contractor can only be made after Contractor receives prior written approval from the Contracting Officer. Whenever the contractor is uncertain with regard to the proper handling of information/data under the Contract, the contractor shall obtain a written determination from the PO. The contractor is not allowed to incur local travel costs associated with traveling to and from NIH's facilities. The period of performance is from award of contract through December 2014. It is anticipated that qualified contractor staff will work at the contractor premises, and will attend an in-person meeting with NIDA staff to initiate the work; at least once a month Contractor will attend a conference call meeting with the PO. Other in-person meetings with NIDA staff may be needed, if the progress of the work is lacking at any time. The Government reserves the right to terminate the contract for its convenience, or due to unacceptable performance. Period of Performance - Date of Award through December 2014 Labor categories required to perform this acquisition are: Project Director, Focus Group Moderator or Leader, Social Science Researcher and Survey Expert, Focus Group Information Collection Note-Taker, Database developer and Processing Expert, Web Technician and survey site Manager, Powerpoint and Report presentation Expert, Research Assistant. The Evaluation Factors are: (1)Understanding of the Requirements: The Offeror's technical approach shall indicate compliance with the requirements as outlined in the statement of work. A suggested work plan and completion schedule shall be submitted, which will be subject to revision as needed for availability of information from the on-going study. (2)Experience of Personnel: Must document experience, educational background and training, and availability of the proposed staff and their designated responsibility on the project. This includes research training and experience, managerial competence, competence in conduct of information collection from focus groups with demonstrated experience in moderating focus groups, preferably with groups of high school youth, competence in questionnaire development and survey administration, and the experience, technical competence, and time commitment of all management, research, computer technical, and editorial staff. (3)Past Performance: Document successful past performance experience in the knowledge of NIH policies, customer feedback information collection for dissemination programs, and assessment of possible outcome from dissemination programs, administration and conduct of e-surveys, administration and conduct of focus group method of information collection, technical ability for upload and conduct and monitoring of e-survey information collection, data download, securing all electronic information solicited and obtained, monitoring the e-survey intake for log-in integrity and integrity and non-contamination of each participants completed answer forms; data download and preparation and processing for analyses; development of focus group guides, recording and note-taking ability from a live meeting, reliability checking of focus group information; expertise and methodological capability in preparing focus group qualitative data for meaningful analysis; data analysis using descriptive methods for qualitative and quantitative data; report preparation; secure maintenance of confidential information in compliance with regulations for development of information collection protocols, expert technical writing skills. The award will be made to the lowest priced, technically acceptable quote meeting the Government's requirements. The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with Offerors. Therefore, the initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a technical and price standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all offers if such action and waive informalities and minor irregularities in offers received. The offeror must include a completed copy of the provision of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items with its offer. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The addenda to the clause read as follows: The offeror must include in their quotation, the unit price, the list price, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. (Point Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. The FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items - Deviation For Simplified Acquisitions, applies to this acquisition. The clauses are available in full text at http://www.arnet.gov/far.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-2/RFQRC2013-2/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: National Institutes of Health, NIDA, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States

Zip Code: 20892
 

Record

SN03140848-W 20130809/130808000211-863b8b6e187f3be9361cffafbf566465 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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