R -- Notice of Intent to Sole Source

R -- The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to solicit the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) for the recruitment and screening of Hispanic Americans for referral to the OPM for developmental assignments. This is in support of an on-going program that is part of the OPM Director's plans to implement the President's Executive Order to provide increased employment opportunities for Hispanic Americans in the Federal workplace.OPM intends to issue a five (5) year contract with a base year and four (4) optional years. Assignments will be for fifteen (15) weeks in the spring and fall programs and ten (10) weeks for the summer program. The North American Industry Classification System code for this procurement is 541612 and the small business standard is 6.0 million per year. The contractor will be responsible for the following services: 1. Recruitment - The contractor will attract a qualified pool of applicants through a campaign of recruitment visits to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), targeted direct mailings, attendance at conferences, responses to inquires, and an informational HNIP web page. 2. Employment Administration- The contractor will receive and process applications. The contractor will match student applications with intern assignments provided by OPM, process payroll, coordinate periodic performance evaluations, and provide guidance and support for the interns over the course of the assignment. As contractor employees, students will be paid a stipend based on their academic level according to a predetermined rate. 3. Orientation - The contractor will conduct orientation activities in Washington, D.C., the weekend before interns report to their assignments. The first day of work will be typically designated as a general introduction to OPM. 4. Extra Curricular Activities - The contractor will organize a series of meetings that will enhance the intern's professional experience and provide them with additional networking opportunities. In addition, the contractor will arrange for students to attend a minimum of three (3) of the following cultural tours: the White House, Pentagon, FBI, Capitol, Library of Congress, and Government Printing Office. The cultural tours will be arranged during all 3 sessions: spring, summer, and fall. 5. Academic Credit - Students will have the opportunity to receive academic credit while working in the program. Students must work to obtain approval from their academic advisor or dean. While this may not be possible in some cases, we anticipate that the majority of the semester-long interns will receive credit for their internship experience, as this is a priority to OPM. The contractor will notify and work with students and their academic advisor or deans to ensure that appropriate documentation and procedures are in place to allow the home institution to award credit. 6. Student and Supervisor Support Services - The contractor will provide support services that include program handbooks, regular written updates, and information about career and educational opportunities. In addition, the contractor staff will conduct site visits and maintain frequent communication by phone, newsletters, e-mails and fax. 7. Housing -The contractor will assist interns in arranging safe, furnished, affordable housing near public transportation that will be accessible to OPM work locations. In case of field placements, the contractor will work with OPM supervisors to meet the above stated criteria. 8. Travel - The contractor will provide round-trip transportation to all interns. 9. Evaluation - The contractor will conduct a complete program evaluation at the end of the program and submit a final report to OPM. The report will include feedback from interns as well as supervisors. OPM believes that only HACU can meet the goals of this procurement because it has an applicant pool that is 90% Hispanic. Their recruitment process is national in scope and does not discriminate against non-Hispanic applicants. Furthermore, the HACU national intern program is nationally recognized for the quality of it program and interns. Interested firms capable of providing this service must submit a Statement of Capability (SOC) describing the size and ethnicity of the applicant pool from which they would draw, the process by which applicants are selected on a non-discriminatory basis, a description of previous experience recruiting Hispanic students nationally for their intern program, and a description of the intern program offered to students recruited. Companies must also submit information regarding the estimated cost per student for each term. This is not a solicitation. The Government will use responses to this synopsis to help determine if the solicitation of HACU on a noncompetitive basis is justified. See Note 22. Responses should be addressed to Ms. Terry L. Anderson and submitted to the address above, not later than 3:00 p.m., May 14, 2004. Faxes may be sent to +1 (555) 000-0000. The OPM is a secured Government facility, and the Contractor is responsible for arriving in sufficient time to be processed through security. Late delivery may result in rejection of the Contractor's proposal. All SOCs received after the closing date and not postmarked at least five (5) days prior to the closing date, will be considered late and will not be given consideration. Extensions of the deadline will not be granted.