SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Early Childhood Data Collection and Analysis Efforts for the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2006 Cohort
- Notice Date
- 4/5/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, Parklawn Building Room 5-101 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- 05FOSTER01
- Archive Date
- 4/20/2005
- Description
- The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, through the Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, Department of Health and Human Services is seeking Contractors who have the experience and capabilities to perform the tasks within the following statement of work. Under the RFP, offerors shall manage and administer a large-scale, early childhood data collection and analysis efforts for the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2006 Cohort. FACES is an ongoing, longitudinal study of Head Start program quality and child outcomes, which to date has included three nationally representative cohorts (1997, 2000 & 2003). The FACES 2006 study will provide data from a new, nationally representative sample of children and programs in order to build on the knowledge gained from previous cohorts. THE MINIMUM CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS ARE: (1) In-depth expertise in development and research on assessment tools for young children, particularly children from low-income families, and including children entering preschool speaking a language other than English; (2) Experience managing national studies in areas of investigation such as child development, program evaluation, early childhood education, and the assessment of young children?s cognitive, social and physical functioning; (3) Demonstrated experience and capability to conduct large-scale data collection involving classroom observations, parent and teacher interviews, and direct assessments of young children from a wide range of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic populations at the volume and within the time schedule mentioned above; (4) Experience in efficiently managing the range of tasks related to the training and management of field staff located in all regions of the U.S., and the data collection and quality control activities associated with multi-site studies of similar programs; (5) Experience with collecting, analyzing, and reporting information for purposes of program accountability and program improvement; (6) Adequate computer/statistical resources and the institutional capability to process and analyze a large volume of assessment and interview data, including capacity to input data, clean data and conduct quality control checks, and perform complex data analyses. THE TASKS UNDER THE PROPOSED CONTRACT WILL INCLUDE: (1) Establishment of a Technical Work Group (TWG) whose members will advise the Contractor on various technical aspects of the study; (2) Development of a sampling plan that draws on the universe of regular preschool Head Start programs; (3) Negotiation with local programs selected into the sample to facilitate engagement in the study; (4) Selection and/or development of a battery of research-based, valid and reliable data collection instruments including: survey instruments for use during in-person interviews with Head Start parents, teachers, and staff; tools for the direct assessment of child development; and observational measures of classroom environments. Negotiation of agreements with publishers of any copyrighted assessments selected for use in FACES and compensation of publishers for such rights may be required; (5) Development of materials necessary to obtain OMB approval for data collection activities; (6) Development of a detailed data collection and analysis plan; (7) On-site data collection including direct assessments of up to 3000 children as they enter Head Start and as they complete one or two years of program participation and kindergarten; parent and teacher interviews for each child; and observations in up to several hundred Head Start classrooms. Each data collection wave must be completed within a two month period in the fall or spring, with the first such period beginning in fall 2006. This task also includes field testing of data collection instruments and procedures, training of field data collectors, and implementing procedures for tracking participants over time and minimizing attrition; (8) Data entry, analysis, and reporting, including the conduct of briefings and preparation of special topic analyses and research briefs; (9) development and delivery of public use data files for archiving. In accordance with FAR 5.102(a)(1), availability of the solicitation will be limited to the electronic medium on or about 15 days from the date of this publication. The address for downloading a request for proposal will be published to assist potential bidders with the drafting of their proposals. The address for downloading the solicitation from the internet is http://ww.fedbizops.gov . The site contains downloading instructions. Notifications of any changes to this solicitation (amendments) shall be made only on the Internet. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring the site to assure that they have the most-up-to-date information. Paper copies of the solicitation and associated amendments will not be distributed. The anticipated release date for the Request for Proposal (RFP) is approximately 15 days from the date of publication of this notice.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Performance will be at the contractor's facilities and at various data collection site's accross the U.S.
- Record
- SN00781945-W 20050407/050405211922 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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