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FBO DAILY ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 23, 2008 FBO #2280
SOLICITATION NOTICE

R -- Measurement of General & Specific Deterrence Impacts

Notice Date
2/21/2008
 
Notice Type
Solicitation Notice
 
Contracting Office
Environmental Protection Agency, National Procurement Contract Service Center, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw 3803r, Washington, DC 20460
 
ZIP Code
20460
 
Solicitation Number
RFQ-DC-08-00098
 
Response Due
3/7/2008
 
Archive Date
4/7/2008
 
Point of Contact
Point of Contact, Paul Dawson, Purchasing Agent, Phone (202) 564-4473
 
E-Mail Address
Email your questions to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(dawson.paul@epamail.epa.gov)
 
Description
NAICS Code: 541620 EPA intends to issue a purchase order to Professor Jay Shimshack, Assistant Professor of Economics, Tufts University, on a sole source basis using Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The required services are set forth in the attached statement of work. Prof. Shimshack is considered the only person who can most effectively and expeditiously provide these services to EPA for the following multiple reasons: 1. Prof. Shimshack was contracted to fulfill Tasks 1 and 2 of this SOW by December 31, 2007. This included research and preparation of the Whitepaper on Measurement of General and Specific Deterrent Impacts of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement. Prof. Shimshack was selected over the other offerors because he demonstrated a clear understanding of Task 1, submitted a creative and extremely focused bid, and was able to provide the contractual services to EPA at the best value and price. Prof. Shimshack was exceptionally responsive to ORD and OECA in the post-award period. All of his work and communication was timely and responsive. The final product was extremely satisfying to all reviewers in ORD and OECA because it answered all of the critical research questions in the SOW substantively and completely. This is critical to the government now because Tasks 3-5, which describe new work to be initiated and completed in calendar year 2008, directly follows up and builds on the work that has already been performed to accomplish Tasks 1 and 2. In our experience, 100% ultimate satisfaction with all aspects of any Contractor's work on thorny measurement and policy issues such as those addressed in Tasks 1 and 2 of the SOW is a rare occurrence. Yet such were the reactions in the two offices to Prof. Shimshack's work on Tasks 1 and 2. It is therefore strongly in the government's interests that ORD and OECA continue the follow-up work on Tasks 3-5, work that is a direct outcome of the initial Tasks, with the same Contractor. 2. Task 2, under the original SOW, was to participate in an invitation-only, two-day workshop with participants from ORD, OECA, OIG and OMB, to present the Contractor's research results, findings, and recommendations, on optimal methods to determine the effects of specific and general deterrence. At the Workshop, Prof. Shimshack presented his findings in an informative, transparent, responsive, and persuasive manner, demonstrating a full understanding of OECA's complex performance measurement needs. In all instances, Prof. Shimshack's professional demeanor was clear, helpful, and essential to realizing successful workshop outcomes. He was also very responsive to workshop participants' questions and concerns. In this vein, Prof. Shimshack personally developed and successfully proposed to workshop participants an approach to determine more generalizable specific and general deterrence measures that have become new Tasks 3-5 in the Amended SOW. Prof. Shimshack thus possesses a set of unique knowledge and skills, including communication skills, viewed by ORD and OECA as essential to completing new Tasks 3-5 successfully and efficiently. 3. As described in paragraph 2 above, Prof. Shimshack argued convincingly, in performing the first stage of this project, for a series of statistical analyses to determine the broader applicability of the two published econometric models that measure general and specific deterrence to additional industry sectors, media, and regulations. The general deterrence model in question was developed personally by Prof. Shimshack, who published it following formal peer review. The specific deterrence model, also published following formal peer review, was developed by Prof. Wayne Gray of Tufts University. Prof. Gray also attended the workshop described in paragraph 2. These factors are relevant sole source considerations because the crux of the new Tasks is to take the two, preexisting models and simplify them. Accomplishing this requires access to the underlying data used to develop the models and results in the peer reviewed formal studies published by the two Professors. To do so effectively and expeditiously, it is strongly in the government's interest, if not a practical imperative, to contract with Prof. Shimshack to do so because he has in-depth knowledge of both models, actual and sole physical possession and sole proprietorship of the quantitative data for the published general deterrence model results. Furthermore, it is in EPA's interests for a single contractor to be responsible for performing all of the tasks in this project because the issues raised by specific and general deterrence measurement are interrelated. More specifically, the same EPA interventions produce both effects, and therefore consistent modeling approaches are required. These factors indicate that an alternative approach of splitting analysis of specific and deterrence measurement into two separate contracts would not yield optimum results for EPA in a timely manner. Prof. Shimshack has already collaborated professionally with Prof. Gray with whom he enjoys a collegial working relationship. No other offeror would be able to complete Tasks 3-5 at the same level of quality in as timely a manner and for an equivalently reasonable cost. 4. The Project Officer and Deputy Project Officer for the Amended SOW have significant professional experience with deterrence research. They understand, based on extensive, hands-on, actual experience with such research projects in connection with the ORD National Center for Environmental Research's Science to Achieve Results grants program, that when a researcher is starting essentially from scratch, these types of analyses can take literally years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, to complete. Indeed, at least one year is commonly spent by such researchers just on their study-specific data assembly work. Such a time frame is not acceptable to EPA, however, as OECA formally committed to OMB, in July 2006, to formulate a research approach to measuring the impact of deterrence in a timely fashion. Prof. Shimshack, in ORD's and OECA's professional judgment, will be uniquely able to focus immediately on the key new objectives of calibrating the preexisting general and specific deterrence models and apply a simplified form of them to other sectors and media. Therefore, Prof. Shimshack is in a uniquely optimal position to complete Tasks 3 through 5 within 5 months, as required by OECA and ORD. Specifically, OECA and ORD need Tasks 3 and 4 to be fulfilled within 3.5 months of the contract effective date, and the training of OECA staff to take place shortly thereafter, depending on scheduling and availability factors. 5. Task 5 will require the Contractor to travel to Washington to train OECA staff on the measurement approaches developed under Tasks 3 and 4. Prior exchanges between Prof. Shimshack and relevant OECA staff have left OECA with an exceptionally high level of confidence in Prof. Shimshack's ability to develop and present the required training in a productive and cost-effective manner. This is important because doing so will require developing and presenting straightforward methodologies that can be readily replicated by OECA staff without requiring excessive resource and staff time. In summary, based on these factors, it is ORD's and OECA's considered opinion that only Prof. Jay Shimshack is capable of fulfilling new Tasks 3-5 in the Amended SOW at a high level of quality, and as expeditiously and efficiently as necessary, to meet the government's needs in connection with this project. Prof. Shimshack should therefore be selected as EPA's sole source supplier for the Amended SOW. NO SOLICIATION OR REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) IS AVAILABLE. Notwithstanding the above, any firm that believes it is capable of meeting EPA's requirement as stated herein may submit a capabilities statement, which if received by the response date of this announcement will be considered. Responses to posting must be in writing and submitted to Mr. Paul M. Dawson, Contracting Officer, via the e-mail link below. A determination not to compete the proposed requirement based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. AMENDED STATEMENT OF WORK COMPLIANCE AND DETERRENCE RESEARCH AND WORKSHOP PROJECT: MEASUREMENT OF GENERAL AND SPECIFIC DETERRENT IMPACTS OF COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT BACKGROUND: EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) conducts a range of activities, including implementing an Economics and Decision Sciences (EDS) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research program. Within this research program the Corporate Environmental Behavior and the Effects of Government Interventions and Voluntary Programs Request for Assistance (RFA) funds scientific research aimed at increasing our understanding of the motivations influencing environmental compliance and behavior. An important client for this thread of compliance research is the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). OECA is responsible, along with State environmental agencies, for enforcing and assuring compliance with the nation's environmental laws. Beginning with its National Performance Measures Strategy report completed in Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, OECA has implemented an active and conscientious effort to identify, develop, and use performance indicators to manage the national compliance and enforcement program and enhance accountability to the public. In particular, OECA has focused on measuring not just outputs or activities (e.g., the number of enforcement actions) but the intermediate and end outcomes or results of those activities (e.g., pounds of pollutants reduced through enforcement actions). In addition, OECA has expanded its measures to encompass all of its principal program activities, including assistance and incentives rather than only monitoring and enforcement. Increasingly, OECA is being asked to improve the results that are achieved and how to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of its activities. For example, in preparing the 2007 President's Budget, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed OECA to, among other things, "look at using metrics that are statistically valid, including compliance rates, reductions in pollution characterized as to risk, recidivism, contamination incidents, and other tools." OECA is therefore increasing its efforts to identify successful techniques and strategies for promoting, achieving, evaluating, and measuring environmental compliance. At this point in the evolution of OECA performance measurement, two of the biggest challenges are: (1) measuring the deterrent effect of inspections and enforcement; (2) measuring outcomes from compliance assistance, including attitudinal and behavioral changes, capital improvements, improved environmental management, and reductions in pollution discharges and emissions. Specifically, this statement of work is focused on: Measuring the Deterrent Effect of Monitoring and Enforcement Law enforcement agencies have long believed that their actions have an impact beyond the person or entity that is the subject of an enforcement action. The conventional wisdom is that the effectiveness of a legal threat depends on the likelihood that a lawbreaker will be caught, the nature and severity of the punishments, and the speed of apprehension and punishment with increases in each dimension correlating with increased deterrence and compliance. Beyond specific deterrence that identifies individual violators, returns them to compliance, and motivates (deters) continuing behavior, there is the strongly-held view among law enforcers that individual enforcement actions also bring about general deterrence of violations among other entities subject to the same or similar laws or requirements. There is a significant body of literature about deterrence theory which examines the forces that seem to influence compliant and non-compliant behavior, and there are now a number of studies documenting and analyzing the deterrent, motivational, and performance-related effects of compliance monitoring, enforcement, technical assistance, incentives, and other government interventions. Additional forces include market and community pressures, and corporate policy, organization, and compensation. OECA would benefit greatly from better understanding relationships among these factors and how to measure resultant deterrent impacts. Knowing more about the interplay of these factors could lead to subtle-to-significant changes in how assistance, incentives, monitoring, and enforcement are targeted to address specific environmental risks and noncompliance patterns. This Amended Statement of Work lists 5 Tasks. Tasks 1 and 2 were completed in calendar year 2007 by EPA's Contractor, Professor Jay Shimshack of Tufts University. Tasks 3-5 describe new work to be initiated and completed in calendar year 2008. The new work is in follow-up to, and builds on, the work performed previously to accomplish Tasks 1 and 2. OBJECTIVE: The National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) of the Office of Research and Development (ORD) wishes to obtain a White Paper prepared on the indicated topic. A considerable body of research and an intellectual infrastructure has been focused on this topic, due in no small part to STAR funding. The intent of this requirement shall be to summarize information currently available on the subject and present it in the form of a draft report and full report. The principal audiences for the paper are OECA and ORD. NCER may also use the paper to consider future research initiatives in this and related subjects. A secondary audience will be other EPA program offices currently engaged in developing performance measures. To stimulate the identification, discussion, and implementation of new ideas and insights to measure the deterrent effect of monitoring and enforcement and compliance assistance outcomes, ORD, in collaboration with OECA, is initiating the Compliance and Deterrence Research and Workshop Project. Through this Project, ORD and OECA seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of EPA's compliance and enforcement efforts by improving how the Agency measures the deterrent effect of monitoring and enforcement and compliance assistance outcomes. NEW TASKS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2008 Tasks 1 and 2 were completed in calendar year 2007. The Contractor shall perform the following three new Tasks in calendar year 2008: Task 3: Identify two new, simplified, quantitative database analyses capable of capturing specific deterrence and general deterrence effects, respectively, in a scientifically rigorous yet efficient manner. Task 4: For 4-6 additional industry sectors identified by OECA in consultation with the Contractor, undertake necessary dataset preparation needed to run the models and determine parameters of general and specific deterrence based upon the simplified models developed under Task 3. Task 5: Train OECA's personnel on how to use the models, in-house, to conduct future specific and general deterrence measurement in multiple settings.
 
Record
SN01514164-W 20080223/080221224901 (fbodaily.com)
 
Source
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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