Communications Research on Medicare Audiences

THIS IS NOT A FORMAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) AND DOES NOT COMMIT THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS) TO AWARD A CONTRACT NOW OR IN THE FUTURE. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE to determine the availability of potential small businesses (e.g., 8(a), service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business) that are qualified to provide: qualitative research, including formative research and product testing; as well as quantitative research, including surveys and data analysis around CMS communications and CMS audiences and that supports communication efforts around CMS programs. Background: CMS maintains various communication channels to communicate information about Medicare, e.g. publications, Medicare.gov web site, health fairs, State Health Insurance Programs, advertisements. CMS utilizes various qualitative and quantitative research strategies to develop, improve and gauge the impact of CMS's Medicare-specific communication strategies. Description of Work: Tasks that may be required primarily focus on conducting appropriate qualitative/quantitative research to support the implementation of CMS Medicare-specific communication efforts, as well as, evaluating consumer communication activities. Tasks may include, but not be limited to: (1) conducting formative research--both qualitative and quantitative--to collect consumer-based data, segment CMS Medicare audiences into homogeneous groups; (2) conducting consumer research on CMS's Medicare-specific products or materials to refine messages for targeted audiences; (3) developing and applying quantitative measures to track and/or evaluate the effectiveness of CMS's Medicare-specific communication efforts that will be performed or authorized by CMS; and (4) conducting increasingly sophisticated branding research to position Medicare for the 21st century. The challenge of these tasks is they will generally require a quick turnaround and there will be little notice of the exact Medicare research topics before work will need to commence. Contractor Requirements: The potential offeror must address the following, clearly indicating with adequate detail, information about the company, the company's experience (within the past five years) and ability to provide all of the numbered points below: 1.Time in business, professional partnerships, facilities and any additional information that demonstrates the scope of the business as they relate to the research described above, particularly with regard to experience with researching the Medicare program and the population it serves. 2.Substantiation that the company has adequate staff that meets the following criteria: -Education and direct experience (within five years) required for: --qualitative research (moderating focus groups, particularly with seniors) and use of creative qualitative approaches (e.g. mind-mapping, etc.) for more sophisticated branding work, --survey development, --program evaluation, --experiments or quasi-experiments and --secondary analysis of large databases. -Proficiency with the following analytic procedures and techniques: --linear regression, --logistic regression, --ANOVA or GLM and --psychometrics and measurement techniques, --complex survey design and appropriate analytic techniques. -Regular use of data analytic statistical packages to conduct inferential statistics, such as regression. 3.Experience with consumer testing of complex written health materials and specifically, any experience with CMS's Medicare-specific communications materials and the Medicare population CMS. 4.Experience that demonstrates the company's qualitative methodological approaches as applied to formative research. 5.Experience that demonstrates the company's qualitative methodological approaches as applied to product testing (e.g. interactive web sites, 10 page publications; brochures; fact sheets). 6.Experience that demonstrates the company's sophisticated survey development, implementation and quantitative analysis capabilities and experience. 7.The techniques the company uses for target audience segmentation and identification, particularly those techniques/measures beyond demographic criteria, including knowledge of Medicare's segments and policies related to those segments. 8.The techniques the company uses, or would use, for branding research. Please list any examples from other private or public sector branding work. 9.A description as to how the company has met the challenge of conducting research of communications material within an extremely short deadline. For example, many times the environment of CMS may require the contractor to respond to the following scenario: while conducting research on two other research projects CMS also needs qualitative research performed on a 10-page publication, in two cities, with a topline report presenting high level findings of the research due within four-weeks of the start of the project. 10.Experience demonstrating the company's ability to effectively translate and present pertinent written and oral research findings (preferably to senior leadership of a government agency or private organization). 11.Experience demonstrating the company's ability to effectively partner with clients who have expertise themselves in marketing research. Please provide examples of how the company has been able to proactively partner with clients by providing valuable knowledge, input and ideas while also being able to integrate clients perspectives and knowledge into the process. 12.Experience demonstrating the company's ability to effectively communicate research findings (e.g. topline and final reports), within a short timeframe (e.g. a topline report within 24 hours) and in adherence with Section 508 compliance. Interested parties (e.g., 8(a), service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business) having the capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements may submit capability statements to point of contact (Heather Robertson) listed at the end of this document. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS MUST DEMONSTRATE THE REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED ABOVE. Please address each in order listed above. Along with the above, the following information is requested: (a) company descriptive literature; (b) specific related corporate experience; (c) experience with the research requirements noted above; (d) the ten points of business information described below; and (e) references (to include a point of contact and phone number) with first hand knowledge of the experience cited in (b), and (c) above. Please include references, if possible, demonstrating an expertise in marketing research. Business information to be submitted in the response: 1.DUNS 2.Company Name 3.Company Address. 4.Company Point of Contact, phone number and email address 5.Type of company under NAICS: 541910-Marketing Research and Public Opinion (Size Standard: $7.0 million), as validated via the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Additional information on NAICS codes can be found at www.sba.gov. 6.Corporate structure (corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, professional corporation, etc.); 7.Any potential government contract must be registered on the CCR located at http://www.ccr.gov/index.asp. 8.Current GSA Schedules appropriate to this Sources Sought 9.Point of Contact, phone number and email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. 10.Responders should also include a statement about whether or not they have an approved accounting system. If the responder has an approved accounting system, please provide the certification in which the accounting system was deemed adequate (e.g. the name of the audit agency and audit number). You may submit as an attachment, which will not count towards the overall page limit. Teaming Arrangements: All teaming arrangements should also include the above-cited information and certifications for each entity on the proposed team. Teaming arrangements are encouraged. The contractor must not have any relationships or arrangements through its business operations or its employees that could be considered as possibly lessening the company's objectivity concerning any aspect of the market research to be done. If such relationships or arrangements exist, contractors shall be required, during the process, to identify potential conflicts of interest and discuss how the conflicts will be addressed and mitigated. All capability statements can be submitted via e-mail, facsimile, or regular mail to the point of contact listed below. Responses must be submitted not later than February 2, 2009. Responses shall be limited to 15 pages. Resumes of key people are limited to 2 pages and may be submitted as an attachment, which will not count towards the page limit. Documentation should be sent to: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Attn: Heather Robertson, Contract Specialist Office of Acquisitions and Grants Management Acquisitions and Grants Group Division of Beneficiary Support Contracts Mailstop: C2-21-15 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244 Point of Contact Name:Heather Robertson, Contract Specialist Phone: 410-786-8888 Fax:410-786-9088 Email:heather.robertson@cms.hhs.gov NO REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE MADE FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION REQUESTS. RESPONDENTS WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED OF THE RESULTS OF THE EVALUATION.