A -- EXTENSION OF EVEN START PERFORMANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION QUALITY EVALUATION CONTRACT

The U.S. Department of Education plans to extend the Even Start Performance and Implementation Quality Evaluation contract (ED-01-CO-0120) for an additional six months, from March 31, 2007, to September 30, 2007. This extension is necessary to accommodate the new Institute of Education Sciences (IES) peer review process, which was not in effect when the original contract was awarded, and to allow sufficient time for revisions to the final report. The contract’s current expiration date is March 31, 2007, but the draft report will not complete the required peer review by that time. This sole source extension is intended to be awarded to Westat, based in Rockville, MD, the original contractor. However, the agency will consider proposals from any responsible sources that choose to submit bids or quotations. The extension falls under the National Institute of Education code 611710, and all related contract management will be handled by the Department of Education’s Contracts and Acquisitions Management office located in Washington, DC. Vidya E. Vish serves as the contract specialist and the point of contact for this procurement.