2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 2024) & Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is conducting market research to determine if sufficient interest and capability exists in the commercial marketplace. This RFI is issued for developing a viable solicitation that will best communicate the Government's requirements to industry. Response to this RFI is strictly voluntary and will not affect any firm's ability to submit an offer if, or when, a solicitation is released. The requested information is for planning purposes only and does NOT constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. No entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect costs or charges will arise as a result of the submission of information in response to this RFI. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Planned Procurement Strategy: This acquisition is open to all business concerns. A Request for Quote (RFQ) will be sent directly to interested parties identified as having the capabilities to meet this requirement. The Department will also post the RFQ to the Government Point of Entry website SAM.gov and GSA eBuy to satisfy competition requirements. The Government is considering awarding a fixed price contract to the responsible offeror whose proposal is most advantageous to the Government after evaluation. However, a final determination regarding the acquisition strategy and contract type will not be made until after completion of the market research activities. Capability Statement Submission Deadline: The deadline for submitting Capability Statements, Contractor Information Form, and vendor feedback is July 16, 2021 by 1:00 PM (ET) via e-mail to the following: charlotte.mccormack@ed.gov, and cc: Rodneyta.Thomas@ed.gov. All e-mails must contain the requirement's name in the subject line (2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 2024) & Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies) Capability Statement Instructions: In response to attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW), the Department hereby solicits capability statements and comments from all eligible, interested parties. Capability Statements shall be no longer than 5 pages (single-spaced, with a minimum of one-inch margins and 12-point font). Vendors shall provide responses for the content areas noted below. This information does NOT count against the 5-page Capability Statement page limitation. BASIC INFORMATION (a) Please state your business/company name and address. Include contact information such as a corporate email address and website URL. (b) Please state your business size status (i.e., large, small, educational institution, or nonprofit) in the stated NAICS code of 541720. Also provide all socio-economic categories for your company and the corresponding NAICS code. (c) Provide comments on the scope of work and/or identify any issues with the structure of the requirement, below: 2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 2024) & Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies CAPABILITY STATEMENT CONTENT AREAS The capability statement must describe the collective expertise and experience in each of the following areas: - Working with federal, state, and local education agencies to develop and produce best practices guides and resources identifying and defining data elements and definitions and course codes. - Developing and updating the content for a website. This differs from developing a website content management system or redesigning a website, which are experiences not required or applicable to this procurement. - Writing technical content in plain language in order to produce education data documents, to edit technical documents related to education data improvement and deliver high-quality resources such as handbooks, publications, and education data tools. - Hosting large and small meetings to discuss education data related topics of interest to the U.S. Department of Education, State and Local education agencies. The capability statement should: 1) Demonstrate staff and corporate qualifications, knowledge, and experience related to the conduct of large-scale sample-based studies. 2) Demonstrate successful experience conducting large-scale national surveys of postsecondary education institutions and individuals. 3) Demonstrate technical capacity for conducting computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) and web-based surveys. 4) Provide documentation of past projects that are of similar scale, scope, and complexity as NPSAS (collection of administrative data from up to 3,000 institutions and survey administration with up to 150,000 students). 5) Demonstrate experience with administrative and student record collection (e.g., postsecondary transcripts and institutional records) and/or data systems to support collection of student data to reduce the burden of direct collection on students and institutions. 6) Demonstrate expertise in survey development including the use of cognitive testing to determine appropriate instrument wording and design. 7) Demonstrate expertise in the analysis of large-scale survey data collected through a study with a complex sample design. 8) Demonstrate statistical expertise in producing weights for use with data collected through a study with a complex sample design, including the analysis of nonresponse bias and the incorporation of nonresponse adjustments to reduce or eliminate bias. 9) Demonstrate experience developing data files and documentation for dissemination to researchers with various levels of expertise in statistical methods and social science research. 10) Demonstrate past experience building relationships with postsecondary institutions and the higher education community in order to gain the cooperation of institutions that are randomly selected into the study. 11) Indicate whether the corporation has an IT system with Authority to Operate (ATO) for the Department of Education **PWS and Additional information attached**