Request for Information - Commercial Databases

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ACQUISITION OF COMMERCIAL DATABASES The following Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for Market Research purposes. The Census Bureau will use the information gathered in support of future decennial censuses, current surveys, such as the American Community Survey (ACS), and other Census Bureau demographic and economic research and production work. This document does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment to issue a Request for Proposal by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau is not accepting offers at this time nor will the information provided be evaluated or considered as an offer. The Census Bureau is not responsible for any cost incurred by a contractor in responding to this announcement. The following questions are intended to help the Census Bureau learn more about best practices for the acquisition of commercial databases to improve coverage of administrative records data used in the work described above. Although answers to these questions are optional, the Census Bureau encourages companies to submit responses based on their knowledge and experience with this service in the commercial marketplace. Based on the information provided, and as part of its ongoing market research, the Census Bureau may contact individual respondents for additional information. All information provided will be kept confidential and will be utilized for market research purposes directly related to the work described above. INSTRUCTIONS: Responses to this RFI should be sent as an attachment to contact@example.gov in Word or PDF format document, not to exceed ten (10) pages (8.5" x 11", 12-point font size, and in a proportional font e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, etc.). The 10-page limit EXCLUDES any non-disclosure agreements, licensing agreements, data dictionaries, and/or metadata. However, any cover pages, tables of contents, outlines, and/or cover letters WILL count towards the 10-page limit. The following information should also be included in your response document: 1. Company name, address, and web site. 2. Contact person's name, position, email and phone number. 3. Brief description of the organization, including business size (e.g. large business, small business (including type) and services provided. If company has a current GSA contract, please provide the contract number. 4. Available Databases (Db). For each, include: a. Db name b. Db coverage - uniform nationwide or non-uniform nationwide*, Puerto Rico, etc. c. Data dictionary of all variables/elements** to include the data source(s) and update frequency (daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.) for each variable/element d. Available list install delivery formats (encryption software, compression software, data transfer - electronic transmission, tape, DVDs, etc.) *Note regarding Db coverage: The Census Bureau is aware of the national databases of contact information available in the market today. We are interested in submissions that provide nationwide coverage. We are interested in obtaining lists of households within the universe of all persons and all addresses in the United States, including the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (if available) We are also interested in identifying targeted sources of information that supplement any national sources that we obtain separately. We are interested in obtaining lists of households containing one or more of the following demographic groups within the universe of all persons and all addresses in the United States, including the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (if available): - Households in multi unit structures - Households that are renters - Households where the householder is under 35 - Households in Census Tracts with large rates of poverty or participation in SNAP - Households with children under five years old present - Households where the householder (the person who owns or rents the residence) identifies themselves as AIAN or NHPI or Hispanic In addition, we are interested in identifying targeted sources of information that supplement any national sources that we obtain separately in one or more of these specific geographic areas: - Alaska, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, or Wyoming - Addresses located in American Indian Alaska Native areas - Puerto Rico **Note regarding Db elements: The Census Bureau has particular interest in the following address-level and person-level data elements described below: Primary (required) data elements should include elements 1, 2, and 3 and/or 4: 1. Complete location and mailing address - a. For city-style addresses including: House Number, Street Name, Suffix, Directional, Unit Number (as applicable), City, State, ZIP Code b. For non city-style addresses including: Either Rural Route Number and Rural Route Box Number or P.O. Box Number, and City, State, ZIP Code c. For Puerto Rico addresses, if applicable, including: House Number, Street Name, Suffix, Directional, Unit Number (as applicable), Urbanization, Area Name, ZIP code (Any additional address fields available for Puerto Rico are welcome, including apartment complex name, building information, area name (e.g. barrio or sector), and kilometer/hectometer marker.) 2. Names of household residents (complete first name, middle name, last name(s) and suffix) a. Date of birth (month, day, and year) (or age if DOB is unavailable) 3. One or more landline telephone numbers and/or cellular phone numbers associated with this address 4. One or more email addresses associated with this address Optional data elements may include one or more of the following: For each household: 1. For each landline telephone number and cellular phone number: a. Quality indicator b. Date the number was last validated c. Date the number was last updated 2. For each email address: a. Quality indicator b. Date the email address was last validated c. Date the email address was last update 3. Latitude/Longitude coordinates for addresses 4. Housing tenure 5. Household population count (including all persons, over and under 18 years of age, living or staying at the address) 6. Count of persons <18, with categories of age ranges, if available. 7. Presence of children in the household, possibly within age cohorts 8. Last date record was updated For each person: 1. Social Security Number (SSN) 2. Alternate person identifier (driver's license number, passport number, etc.) 3. Other residence indicator (college, military, seasonal residence) 4. Alternate address and/or Historical addresses 5. Date of Death 6. Sex 7. Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin 8. Race 9. Head of household indicator 10. Relationship to head of household In addition, we are interested in other database elements that may help us contact households or better understand the characteristics of each household and its occupants Questions: 1. The Census Bureau is investigating the acquisition of household-level microdata (not a query-based service). Does your company have experience(s) selling ready-available databases to government agencies? If the answer is yes, please provide: a. A brief description of previous experiences. b. Name of the agency(ies) and a point of contact. c. Any lessons learned that could assist the U.S. Census Bureau in procuring commercial databases. 2. Does your company have a standard non-disclosure agreement for the use of the data supplied? If the answer is yes, please provide a copy. 3. Does your company have a standard license agreement for the data usage? If the answer is yes, please provide a copy. 4. Does your company maintain a cumulative person-address file that could be extracted for particular dates? 5. Is there any minimum requirement to engage your services? Does your company require clients to buy at least three months of data / two databases /five data fields, etc.? Would your company resell persons' data in entirety, providing names and addresses for all persons nationwide? 6. The Census Bureau may require indefinite retention of all raw files purchased, and all derivative files created, without any requirements or fees for re-licensing. Would your company meet this requirement? Please define and identify any implications to this approach. 7. What is the primary purpose of person and household level databases sold by your company (i.e., marketing, risk assessment)? How are data gathered? What are the major sources of data your company provides? How does your company evaluate these sources to ensure the accuracy of the data provided? How does your company ensure the data acquired by your company is obtained from sources that allow the reuse of this data, including contacting people using phone numbers or email addresses? 8. What commercial/industry standards does your company employ for mitigating, managing, and preventing data breaches or data being stolen? 9. Describe your company's pricing policy. Please provide as much detail as possible, including, to the maximum extent possible, the estimated cost of the database(s) on a monthly, quarterly, and/or yearly basis, as applicable. Does your company have differential pricing based on the amount of content being purchased? 10. Should the Census Bureau pursue an RFP, interested parties would be expected to submit test files for specified geographical areas and/or households with specified demographic characteristics. Please describe any conditions your company would have for submission of test files, if any. 11. Please provide any additional information your company considers to be useful to the Census Bureau during the market research process, including industry-preferred strategies for the acquisition of commercial databases.