Office of Justice, Contracts Branch, 633 Indiana Avenue, NW, Room 542, Washington, DC

D -- WINDOWS BASED SURVEY INSTRUMENT SOL OJP-97-R-013 DUE 060297 POC Karen L. Stringfield, (202)514-5731, Fax: (202)307-0086 or Robyn Dyson Towles, Chief Contracting Officer, (202) 616-9226 This ia a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested. A written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation Number OJP-97-R-013 is being issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) and will be awarded as a purchase order using the simplified acquisition procedures. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 90-46. The standard industrial code is 7371 and the business size is $18.0. This is an unrestricted procurement. The Office of Justice Programs is seeking a windows-based survey instrument to develop a user friendly product for multiple users to enter and store data electronically from computer-assisted telephone interviews. This product will operate with commercially off-the-shelf software such as MicrosoftAccess 97. Line 001. General system features: The base platform will be a PC capable of utilizing Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 as its operating system. The software shall be written to be able to detect the presence of an appropriate telephony hardware device, such as a Dialogic ProLine/2V card or equivalent. If such a device is present, the software will utilize the features the device is able to provide, such as dialing phone numbers and allowing for a user to initiate a conversation; providing for the capability to bring a third party onto the line as necessary; report call status, such as busy, fast busy, ring no answer; detect the presence of a fax/modem or no such number indicator, and other such features the device may be able to provide. If the software does not detect the presence of a telephony hardware device able to perform these functions, the software will assume that the user will be using a telephone instrument of some other type to place and receive calls. Line 002. Software for computer assisted telephone interviewing and data storage: The end-product shall have a series of computer "screens" to facilitate telephone interviewing with a complex survey instrument. The software must allow the interviewer to easily proceed through a complex series of "skip" patterns designed in the questionnaire. The questionnaire which is to be placed in a Windows format is located on the Bureau of Justice Statistics(BJS) World Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm#Programs. A source of reports published from the survey is also available on the BJS World Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/. The collected information from these telephone interviews will be stored in a database similar to the format employed by Microsoft's Access 97. To facilitate the user "screens" the software may be developed using a high level language, such as Visual Basic, Java, or C/C++, to provide access to the generated data base of interviews. This software may utilize the TAPI(Telephony Application ProgrammingInterface) application protocol interface, if available. The software must be able to generate random residential telephone numbers in a specifically defined geographic area and maintain a log of working phone numbers. In addition, the software will need to provide the capability of rescheduling calls for later call backs at the respondents convenience. The software shall have appropriate security mechanisms to access the database. The software shall allow the user the option to use it either on a stand-alone PC, or on a computer network, such as Novel or Windows NT. If the software is to be installed on a computer network, the software will allow multiple users to access a shared database and perform the appropriate file and record locking as needed. Line 003. Support for questionnaire modifications and future expansion: The software developed for the questionnaire "screens" used in capturing data during the interview should be written in a modular manner, so that data items can be easily changed or added as necessary. Local jurisdictions need the option of tailoring the basic existing survey instrument to their specific needs. This includes the ability to modify the questionnaire "screens" at a local site. The core amount of data collected can be summarized as follows: there will be basic information obtained regarding the household, followed by information on up to 15 persons within the household, each of which can report up to 15 incidents of crime. An additional supplemental questionnaire may be developed by localities that may also be asked of each person interviewed. It is estimated that a minimum of 1,500 households will be interviewed up to a maximum of 15,000 households with interviews. The logical record length for the incident section may be as large as 800 bytes; the person logical record size may be as large as 300 bytes, and the household logical record size may be a large as 250 bytes. For a nationwide survey, the software must accommodate 15,000 households each month with similar file sizes outlined above. The supplemental questionnaire, if present, will vary in logical record size. The software shall be able to perform standard consistency and range checking of values as the data is entered. Line 004: Database capability: Users of the collected interview data want to analyze the database with other common software products. To facilitate this need, the developed software should store the data in a database format, such as Microsoft's Access 97, as well as having the capability for outputting a flat file or nested hierarchical data file that can be used by common statistical software packages, such as SPSS or SAS, at the option of the user. Line 005. Materials must be for public use: Software and source code written for this project must be provided to the end user. All materials will be made available to the public so that no licensing fees are to be incurred by any user. Line 006: Qualifications: Applicants under synopsis/solicitation shall indicate their capabilities to successfully complete the tasks described above. Prior work for the Government and NON-Government units shall be described and references provided. Hardware and software resources and skills should be fully enumerated. Line 007. Cost statement: Applicants shall indicate the approximate total cost for converting the NCVS to a Windows-based telephone survey with data storage capability. Cost estimates shall include all labor cost (labor hours and hourly labor rates), overhead, travel, software acquisition, and other direct and indirect related costs. Line 008. Deliver to: The Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 633 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20531. Delivery: 180 days ARO, Inspection and Acceptance at the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 633 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. The provisions 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial(OCT 1995); 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items(May 1997); and 2.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders-Commercial Items(AUG 1996), apply to this acquisition. There are no addenda to these provisions. The following FAR clauses are also applicable: 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; 52.203-10, Price or Fee Adjustment for Illegal or Improper Activity; 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns and Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.225-3, Buy American Act-Supplies; 52.225-18, European union Sanction for End Products and 52.246-2, Inspection of Supplies-Fixed-Price. Standard commercial warranty applies to the items purchased under this solicitation. The vendor responding to this acquisition should provide this office with the following: A price quote on company letterhead for the requested items, stating unit price, extended price, FOB, prompt payment terms, correct remittance address, and a completed copy of the FAR clause 52.212-3(OCT 1995), Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items. A company that is not in possession of the above referenced clauses in full text may contact this office and request that a faxed copy. Offers must be in writing and accompanied by a completed Representations and Certification or the offer will be rejected. Facsimile offers will not be accepted. Oral offers will not be accepted. Provision FAR 52.212(2), Evaluation-Commercial Items (OCT 95),is included: (a)Offerors shall explain the technical approach to accomplish the required tasks. (b) Offerors must demonstrate prior experience in the development of computer screens to support telephone interviewing. (c) Offerors must demonstrate prior experience converting complex paper questionnaires (with multiple skip patterns in the questionnaire) to a Windows operating system suitable for use in a national telephone survey. (d) Offerors must demonstrate knowledge of high-level programming languages (such as Visual Basic, Java or C/C++) and application of such knowledge to computer-assisted telephone interviewing. (e) Offerors should provide company names, point of contacts, and telephone numbers for all contracts and purchase orders for the same or similar services for the past 2 years. (f) Offerors should submit a cost proposal separate from the technical proposal. The cost proposal shall breakdown labor and rates, indirect costs, and other direct cost including supplies, travel and prediem expenses. Evaluation of all offers will be made to determine which RFQ offers the best value to the Government. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (1) Technical Capability; (2) Past Performance; and(3) Cost. Technical and past performance when combined are more important than cost. Offers are due no later than 3:00p.m. on the fifteenth (15th) day after publication of this notice. Offers received after that time will not be accepted. Please reference the solicitation number on your offer. (0135)

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