LOGISTICS/EVENT PLANNING SERVICES

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is conducting market research for an upcoming procurement requirement. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to provide a continuum of planning, organizational, logistical, and facilitation services for the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor & Human Trafficking (OCFT)-sponsored grantee meetings and other occasional meetings, conferences, and symposia; and Record proceedings of the aforementioned OCFT-sponsored events and prepare related reports as requested. Small Businesses are encouraged to respond. Background The Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) is an office within the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). OCFT activities include research on international child labor; supporting U.S. government policy on international child labor; administering and overseeing cooperative agreements with organizations working to eliminate child labor around the world; and raising awareness about child labor issues. Since 1995, the U.S. Congress has appropriated over $720 million to USDOL for efforts to combat exploitive child labor internationally. This funding has been used to support technical cooperation projects to combat exploitive child labor in more than 80 countries around the world. Technical cooperation projects funded by USDOL range from targeted action programs in specific sectors of work to more comprehensive programs that support national efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor as defined by ILO Convention 182. USDOL-funded child labor elimination projects generally seek to achieve five major goals: 1. Withdrawing or preventing children from involvement in exploitive child labor through the provision of direct educational services; 2. Strengthening policies on child labor and education, the capacity of national institutions to combat child labor, and formal and transitional education systems that encourage children engaged in or at risk of engaging in exploitive labor to attend school; 3. Raising awareness of the importance of education for all children and mobilizing a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures; 4. Supporting research and the collection of reliable data on child labor; and 5. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of these efforts. The approach of USDOL child labor elimination projects - decreasing the prevalence of exploitive child labor through increased access to education - is intended to nurture the development, health, safety, and enhanced future employability of children engaged in or at-risk of entering exploitive labor. Purpose and Objectives The goal of the proposed contract is to provide a continuum of planning, organizational, logistical, and facilitation services for the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor & Human Trafficking (OCFT)-sponsored grantee meetings and other occasional meetings, conferences, and symposia; and to record proceedings of the aforementioned OCFT-sponsored events and prepare related reports as requested. Project Requirements Services to be required under this Scope of Work may include the following: 1. Assisting with the scheduling of the event; 2. Selecting and securing event facilities; 3. Drafting, finalizing and transmitting the event agenda and materials to participants in advance of the event; 4. Selecting, securing and managing event audiovisual services; 5. Securing local transportation and other event-related services for participants with special needs; 6. Copying and compiling event materials into binders or folders; 7. Preparing and maintaining up-to-date lists of meeting participants; 8. Drafting and transmitting event invitations and travel instructions; 9. Setting up and managing event registration processes; 10. Managing facilities and equipment during the event; 11. Providing event facilitation services, as needed; 12. Developing and managing event evaluation processes; 13. Administering surveys to participants prior to a meeting to determine their primary topics of interest to assist in preparing program and agenda; 14. Drafting and producing event proceedings or reports; 15. Routinely attending meetings with OCFT to discuss all aspects of event planning and logistics; and 16. Drafting, designing, and finalizing all event graphics If there are participants whose travel is sponsored by OCFT, the services required would also include the following: 1. Planning itineraries and purchasing plane tickets or other transportation to event for participants whose travel is sponsored by OCFT, if applicable; 2. Transmitting tickets to participants whose travel is sponsored by OCFT; 3. Reimbursing sponsored participants per diem and transportation expenses including preparation of cost reimbursement form for each participant; The Recipient will be required to submit all meeting and conference communications, materials, and reports to the COTR for approval prior to release. Capability Statement OCFT is interested in soliciting capability statements from all qualified Offerors demonstrating their ability to perform the activities described above. At a minimum prospective Offerors must document capabilities in the following areas. - Capacity to perform the activities described above. - Prior experience and qualifications of the organization to perform work as described above. - Prior experience planning and providing logistics and facilitation services involving international themes and participants. - Prior experience writing conference/meeting/symposia reports, tailoring the format and style to the specific needs of a client. - Sample documents submitted to support past performance and experience including conference proceedings or other meeting reports and a list of similar work conducted by the applicant during the previous 24 months with names and contact information of the organization that commissioned the work, its purpose, and date completed. - Management and quality control plan. - Description of how the Offeror will ensure that costs are kept to minimum. RESPONSES: All interested parties who believe they meet the above mentioned criteria are invited to respond to this RFI, with an indication if their ability to fulfill the above requirements. A Statement of Qualifications/Capabilities Statement package must be transmitted under a cover letter. The cover letter must cite the following information at a minimum: 1. Response to RFI Number DOL099RI20736; 2. Vendor's Company Name, Address, Contact Person Information; 3. Vendor's DUNS Number; 4. Business Size and Size Standard / Classification We ask that the capability statement not exceed 20 single sided pages in length. Please identify your size classification relative to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 611710 for this requirement. Include whether or not you are a small business; HUBZone small business; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small business; women-owned small business; or small disadvantaged business in order to assist the government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. This Sources Sought is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government to issue a Request for Proposal or award a contract. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted, for the vendor-sponsored demonstration or the Government's use of such information. Sources responding to this Sources Sought should submit the minimum information necessary for the government to make a determination that the source is capable of satisfying the requirements Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Request For Information or the Government's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. Responses should be identified with DOL099RI20736, and are due no later than 4:00 P.M. (EST) on July 9, 2009. Responses must be submitted via email stevens.william@dol.gov and brown.devone@dol.gov. Questions regarding this RFI may be submitted via email to Mr. William Stevens or Mr. Devone Brown. Telephone calls regarding this RFI will not be accepted. The government reserves the right to compete any acquisition resulting from this survey among small businesses or to make an award to an 8(a) firm, based on the responses received. This sources sought notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the government to pay for the information requested, issue a solicitation, or award a contract. No solicitation document exists at this time.