MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT FOR READING

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION EVALUATION AND REGIONAL ASSISTANCE IMPACT EVALUATION OF TRAINING IN MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT FOR READING IN EARLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Tracking #: IESE180056AP CAPABILITY STATEMENT INSTRUCTIONS The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is conducting market research to determine if sufficient interest and capability exists in the marketplace for the Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Reading in Early Elementary School, hereafter referred to as "MTSS-R evaluation." This notice is NOT a request for proposals, but is an invitation for potential offerors to express interest and provide information regarding their relevant knowledge, skills and capabilities. Information submitted in response to this Special Notice may be used to assist the Department in finalizing its acquisition strategy. Disclaimer: The Department will not pay for the provision of any information nor will it compensate any respondents for providing this information. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the government will accrue as a result of the submission of a response or use of such information. This notice does not obligate the Government to award any contract to any interested party, nor does it restrict the Government in its ultimate acquisition approach. Feedback will not be provided to any interested party who submits information to the Department in response to this notice. Capability Statement Submission Deadline The deadline for submitting Capability Statements and Basic Information responses is May 11, 2018 by 2:00 PM (EST) via e-mail to the following individuals: contact@example.gov, and cc: contact@example.gov. In addition, please request a reply email to confirm receipt of electronic correspondence. Primary Point of Contact: Sara Steinberger Contract Specialist contact@example.gov +1 (555) 000-0000 Secondary Point of Contact: Ryan Battad Contracting Officer contact@example.gov +1 (555) 000-0000 Capability Statement Instructions In response to the attached draft Performance Work Statement (PWS), the Department hereby solicits capability statements from eligible, interested parties. Capability Statements shall be no longer than 3 pages (single-spaced, with a minimum of one-inch margins and 12 point font). Contractors should include up to 4 resumes in the appendix. Only resumes for potential key personnel that would work on the anticipated contract are to be included. Each resume must clearly document that individuals have the experience and expertise described below. Each individual resume must be no longer than 4 pages. (Resumes will not be counted as part of the 3 page limit for the capability statement.) Vendors shall provide responses for the items noted below. The responses in the "Basic Information" section do NOT count against the 3 page Capability Statement page limit. BASIC INFORMATION a) Company Name: b) Address: c) Point of Contact (include contact information such as a corporate email address and website URL): d) Number of Employees: e) Gross Annual Receipts: f) Previous contract(s) performing same or similar services as identified in this notice, to include contract type (Firm-Fixed Price, Time and Materials, etc.); overall contract value; Agency/Business Entity contracted with; brief overview of services performed: g) GSA Holder? If yes, GSA Contract number: h) State if your business believes that GSA OASIS contracts are a viable procurement tool for the anticipated work; and if so, under which pool? i) State if your company believes that the DRAFT MTSS-R evaluation PWS contains any unduly restrictive language or content? Why? Please cite specific examples and provide feedback. j) Are you a small business/large business/not-for-profit/educational institution according to NAICS code 541720? Please also include all socioeconomic categories for your company and the associated NAICS codes: k) Are you a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business (Yes/No): l) Are you a certified HubZone Small Business (Yes/No): m) Are you a Woman Owned Small Business (Yes/No): n) Does this requirement provide opportunities for small business subcontracting? Why or why not? o) Does this requirement provide opportunities for a small business set-aside? Why or why not? CAPABILITY STATEMENT CONTENT AREAS (subject to 3 page limit) The capability statement must describe the collective expertise and experience of your company's personnel, in each of the following areas: - Experience and skill in managing, designing and conducting large-scale random assignment studies of interventions designed to improve educational outcomes. Interested parties shall provide a minimum of two examples of personnel's successful past experience and skill in leading, managing, designing, and conducting all aspects of evaluations (preferably in education settings) that are similar to this procurement in content (e.g., early literacy instruction, supports for struggling readers, early literacy measurement, multi-tiered systems of support), methodology (e.g., randomized controlled trial), complexity (e.g., recruitment effort, competition of training provider, implementation support), scope (e.g., national), sample size, and data collection modes (e.g., study-administered, individual assessments, teacher and staff surveys). - Experience and skill in authoring well written, policy relevant publications with clear take-home messages for varied audiences. Interested parties shall provide a minimum of two examples of personnel's involvement with authoring publications that clearly summarize experimental findings and present them in a manner such that they can be understood and used by a wide audience. - Substantive knowledge relevant to the DRAFT MTSS-R evaluation, including early literacy instruction, supports for struggling readers, and early literacy measurement. Interested parties shall provide a minimum of two examples showing that personnel have relevant knowledge to effectively study and support implementation of the intervention, particularly capitalizing on what is known from the research literature. In addition, the capability statement shall address the following experience and capacity at the corporate level: - Experience with projects similar in nature and scale to that described in the Draft MTSS-R evaluation PWS. Interested parties shall provide evidence of successful corporate experience with a minimum of two past projects that are similar to the requirements described in the Draft MTSS-R evaluation PWS, in terms of the specific tasks to be performed, scale, and scope required. Please also address the following questions (limited to no more than five (5), single spaced, pages in your response: 1. Do you see any risks/potential problems with the Government's methods/needs, as it relates to the PWS? How do you propose to revise/mitigate these issues? 2. Do you have any questions/information you suggest we include to ensure you fully understand the Government's requirements? 3. What contract and pricing structure/methodology do you recommend? Should the Government consider other types of contracts such as Cost Reimbursement, Firm-Fixed Price, Time and Materials, or a hybrid contract pricing structure? How do you propose we maintain the flexibility to change the contract direction as conditions change, while maintaining accountability and risk mitigation to both parties? Please provide examples of similar work and what agency has implemented this structure/methodology. 4. Are there Government wide contract vehicles that can be used to support this requirement? If yes, please identify specific vehicles. 5. Based on the Draft PWS, how would you recommend the schedule of deliverables be structured to accommodate the objectives of this study and maximize the benefit for each period of performance? 6. Please provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) on a reasonable fee percentage for this effort and the rationale behind it, to include identifying risks, problems, etc. As of right now, the Government is estimating an 8% fee. Please note there are no guarantees the Government will adjust the fee percentage as result of this RFI, and it ultimately reserves the right to set the fee percentage it deems is in the best interest of the Government. 7. Is there any other information that you wish to convey to the Department? The Department does not intend to post a Questions and Answers amendment to this notice. Instead, the Department intends to take those questions as items that will be utilized to strengthen the Department's RFP/Solicitation documents. Respondents may be contacted for additional information and/or invited to discuss your approach/questions in person or via teleconference. A letter stating your interest or requesting a copy of the solicitation is NOT sufficient to determine contractor capability. Failure to respond to this market research does NOT prohibit vendors from responding to the resulting solicitation, should one be issued in the future. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME and no date has been established for the RFP issuance.