SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- B-Socio-Economic Profiles of Fishers and Their Communities in St. Thomas and St. John in the United States Virgin Islands
- Notice Date
- 6/9/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Central Administrative Support Center, 601 East 12th Street, Room 1756, Kansas City, MO, 64106
- ZIP Code
- 64106
- Solicitation Number
- WC133F-03-RQ-0159JD
- Response Due
- 7/9/2003
- Archive Date
- 7/24/2003
- Point of Contact
- Joseph D'Felio, Lead Contract Specialist, Phone (816) 426-7267, Fax (816) 426-7530, - Joseph D'Felio, Lead Contract Specialist, Phone (816) 426-7267, Fax (816) 426-7530,
- E-Mail Address
-
joseph.d.dfelio@noaa.gov, joseph.d.dfelio@noaa.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- The U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA is requesting proposals for socio-economic profiles of fishers and their communities in St. Thomas and St. John in the United States Virgin Islands. This procurement is for the National Marine Fisheries Service, located at Miami, FL. BACKGROUND: The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA, particularly National Standard 8, NS 8), National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), and Executive Order (EO) 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations) require that social impact analyses be conducted when federal agencies propose new regulations. In turn, these analyses require the use of social and cultural baseline data for the various user groups in the fishery, including descriptions of the commercial, for-hire, recreational and subsistence fishing sectors. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the proposed work is two-fold. The first and overarching objective of the proposed work is to conduct community profiles to satisfy the legal requirements of the MSA particularly NS 8, NEPA and EO 12898 in the islands of St. Thomas and St. John in the United States Virgin Islands. A second objective is to conduct a socio-economic evaluation of the performance of the Marine Conservation District. Objective 1-Community profiles: The first objective is to conduct community profiles to satisfy the legal requirements of the MSA particularly NS 8, NEPA and EO 12898 in the islands of St. Thomas and St. John in the United States Virgin Islands. Key to the successful completion of this objective is the timely development of research protocols and survey instruments since Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance will be required for this project. Also, NMFS anticipates drawing on these protocols and survey instruments to collect social, cultural and economic data regularly. Long-term data collection programs will permit the creation of baselines to monitor changes in fishing communities and provide managers with a deeper understanding of social and economic implications of their decisions. In developing community profiles, socio-economic data should be collected on an island and community level, placing fisheries and communities within the local historical, cultural and economic context. Profiles will describe the different fishery sectors, their distribution and linkages. To satisfy NS 8 requirements, there is a need to identify the various degrees of dependence and engagement. NMFS social scientists have suggested a minimum set of variables that need to be collected to a) identify communities and b) determine their level of dependence and engagement (see, attached tables). Contractors will draw on these variables to describe all sectors related to fishing activities. These sectors include, but are not limited to, commercial harvesters, charter sport fishing, recreational and subsistence sectors. In addition, the contractor will describe fisher cooperatives, markets and market arrangements, support sector operations (e.g., marine industry operations, marinas, gear sale outlets, and other types of fishery support services), sport-fishing organizations and other related sectors such as diver operators. Social and cultural dependency and engagement should also be investigated based on people's connection to place both on land and sea. A resource utilization map by the various fishing sectors is a deliverable. To facilitate the study of distributional impacts of future regulatory actions on the various sectors, contractors should examine these potential impacts in using both geographic and non-geographic categorizations. Contractors will examine these communities geographically, preferably drawing on graphical representations (e.g., GIS or other mapping software) or narrative descriptions. Contractors should describe the spatial distribution of the various sectors across communities in terms of location of landing sites, docking facilities, fisher residency, location of market nodes, etc. Where data permit (e.g., fishermen and trip landings records), contractors will also assign landings data to either residence or landing sites, as appropriate. When possible, socio-economic data should be displayed in GIS format to facilitate later spatial analysis. Additionally, contractors should conduct a non-place based socio-cultural profile. Contractors should examine socio-cultural differences across different fishery sectors. This type of information will be incorporated into the profiles to facilitate potential differential impact analysis by group or socio-cultural dimension. For example, if the Council is considering implementing a new closure, the proposed research should provide some guidance as to the expected socio-economic impacts on the various user groups. Objective 2- Seasonal Closure Evaluation: The second objective of the proposed work is to conduct a socio-economic evaluation of the performance of the Marine Conservation District. The implementation of the MCD has likely had important economic, cultural and social consequences on many adjacent communities. Monitoring these changes (in addition to documenting fishermen's perceptions) will provide for an improved understanding of the human dimensions of establishing closures and will also give managers an opportunity to address fishermen's concerns and improve the existing regulatory framework. The socio-economic evaluation should be done within the umbrella of the profiling framework described above. PROJECT COMPONENTS: Research Design and Methodology-This component will be an early product of the contracted work to ensure that: a) study objectives are addressed, b) appropriate field methods and protocols are selected, c) suitable data (and sampling size) are collected, and d) final document layout agreed upon. This component will be the focus of the kick-off meeting discussion and will be refined in follow up exchanges. Review of Existing Material-This literature review will compile the relevant existing information prior to fieldwork to maximize efficiency. An extensive review of the existing literature must be incorporated into the final report in an effort to contextualize findings. In addition, references should be documented in End Note for future identification and cataloging purposes. Quantitative Fishery Data Analysis-To use fieldwork time more efficiently, contractors will be required to generate a database that has: trip landings information, fishermen census data, US Census data and permit data prior to the beginning their fieldwork. This database must be in Excel, Dbase or SAS format. Also, the contractor will be required to develop a series of maps that identify potential fishing communities by plotting the location of the permit holder residences, landings sites, fisher cooperatives, processing plants, etc. Contractors will also develop maps that show direct linkages between harvest areas and local communities. These tasks will require close cooperation with NMFS and USVI's Division of Fish and Wildlife (USVI DFW) staff. Survey instrument development-As noted in the project objectives and design section, the development of research protocols and survey instruments is an important component of the proposed work since OMB clearance is required. Also, NMFS anticipates that this type of socio-economic information will be collected regularly, which will permit the examination of socio-economic trends. The timely completion of this component will ensure that the structure of the study and outputs satisfy NMFS needs and are consistent with other research efforts in the area. This will be a collaborative effort between the contractor and NMFS staff. OMB Submission- After finalizing the survey instrument, the contractor will be responsible for writing sections of the justification statement for OMB. In particular, the need for collecting certain types of qualitative and quantitative data and the means by which these data will be collected and analyzed. The total amount of writing involved for this component will be in the order of 7-10 pages. This component will be a collaborative effort between the contractor and NMFS staff. Fieldwork-After compiling a list of potential communities and landing sites and obtaining the appropriate OMB clearance, contractors will conduct fieldwork in two phases. The timing of each phase will be determined by the contractor in consultation with NMFS staff. In one phase of the research process, contractors will conduct ethnographic fieldwork to obtain a broad description of the communities, sector linkages, characterize the nature and degree of their involvement in fishing and fishery-related activities. Rapid assessment techniques should be used to ground-truth the identified communities. In another phase, contractors will conduct a standardized survey aimed at collecting socio-economic data to satisfy to minimum NS 8 data requirements. Both phases of the fieldwork should collect information to meet objective 2. Prior to conducting the survey, the contractor should provide copies of the OMB-approved survey instrument(s) interview guide(s) and should pre-test the survey to ensure the soundness of the instrument Report writing and production-Contractors shall prepare a draft and final report. The draft report will be complete, and it is intended that the final report will require only minor changes in response to reviewer comments. The research should also identify data deficiencies and suggest future research needs. Close communication between the contractor and NMFS staff is expected over the course of the project to ensure a high quality and timely product. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION: First-hand knowledge of and demonstrated familiarity with fisheries, fishery sectors (i.e., commercial, recreational and subsistence) and communities in the Caribbean. Demonstrated familiarity with theoretical and/or empirical literature regarding sociological and anthropological research on fishing communities. Previous sociological/anthropological research experience in identifying and/or profiling fishing communities. Previous sociological/anthropological research experience regarding fisheries in the Caribbean, preferably in the United States Virgin Islands. Demonstrated ability to deliver high quality work in a timely fashion. Demonstrated familiarity with various legal mandates and agency guidelines that frame NMFS' social regulatory impact analyses (e.g., Magnuson-Stevens/Sustainable Fisheries Acts, EO 12898, NEPA, Guidelines for Social Impact Analyses, etc.). Detailed working plan, describing time and resource allocation for the various tasks. This is an important consideration given that prior to conducting any fieldwork contractors will need to secure OMB clearance. Experience in a) accessing and using Census data to identify and/or profile communities, b) using GIS and/or other graphical software to provide research results in mapping format, and c) using anthropological softwares such as Atlas.ti. Offerors shall prepare their proposals to address the above factors in the order listed. When selecting an offer for award, the Government will consider the technical ratings coupled with the proposed cost. The Government will base its award on the overall proposal that provides the best value in terms of technical merit and price. As technical merit becomes more equal between offers, price becomes significantly more important. The Government reserves the right to make an award without holding discussions with the offerors. The solicitation will be available on or about July 9, 2003. Firms interested in receiving a copy of the solicitation should send a written request to the contracting officer, referencing this announcement number. Requests may be made by fax (816) 426-7530) or e-mail. This action is set-aside for small business.
- Record
- SN00342622-W 20030611/030609213210 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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