SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Microsimulation Support for Tax, Transfer and Health Insurance
- Notice Date
- 2/17/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting 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, Maryland, 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-OS-ASPE-SBSS-11-001
- Archive Date
- 3/19/2011
- Point of Contact
- Camille M. Timmerman, Phone: 301.443.6851
- E-Mail Address
-
camille.timmerman@psc.hhs.gov
(camille.timmerman@psc.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Background: The Transfer Income Model (TRIM) is a comprehensive microsimulation model developed and maintained by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services (ASPE/HHS). TRIM simulates the major governmental tax, transfer, and health programs that affect the U.S. population and can produce results at the individual, family, state and national levels. TRIM is used to understand the potential outcomes of changes such as welfare, tax and national health insurance reforms. TRIM is used to provide policy advice and develop policy recommendations for the Administration, Secretary and other senior level officials on alternatives to existing tax and transfer programs. In the late 1960s under sponsorship of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, TRIM was designed and developed. In the early 1970s, TRIM2, a totally reprogrammed mainframe version of this system, was produced. Starting in 1995, ASPE/HHS moved TRIM from the mainframe computer to a client/server system. The latest version, TRIM3, grounds the model on a computation platform that takes advantage of advances in information technology. TRIM3 allows registered users to conduct simulations and share results over the Internet from their personal computers i.e. clients. The work of running the simulations and storing large databases is handled by more powerful computers, i.e. servers that are shared by many users. TRIM3 calculates eligibility and enrollment (participation) for complex, large-scale government tax, transfer, and health programs at the individual, family, state and national levels. It can model the eligibility, enrollment, income and poverty effects (including their interactions), as seen in Table 1, of policy changes in fifteen major government tax, transfer, and health programs for the entire non-institutional population of the United States. Table 1 - PROGRAMS THAT CAN BE MODELED BY TRIM3 Cash and in-kind transfer programs. Supplemental Security Income. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program). Child Support. Public Housing and subsidized housing programs. Child Care. Unemployment Insurance. Women, Infant and Children. Low Income Energy Assistance Health insurance programs. Medicare. Medicaid/CHIP. Employer-sponsored health insurance Tax Programs. Payroll taxes. Federal income taxes (including EITC and health care credits). State Income taxes TRIM3 operates on individual units rather than on aggregate data. Its input database contains records on a sample of persons, families, and households in the U.S. TRIM3 applies a set of rules to each individual record. When a simulation is processed, the calculations are performed for each unit (person, family, or household), the results are weighted to reflect the unit's frequency in the population and aggregated outcomes are produced. The generalized structure of TRIM3 permits multiple definitions of program filing units to be utilized. For many programs, changes can currently be modeled from 1993 forward. With additional conversion of historical TRIM data files from TRIM2 to TRIM3 format changes for many programs could be modeled from 1979 forward. TRIM3 also calculates results using current program rules and shows the effects of possible changes in these rules. TRIM3 can be used in addressing a wide range of policy questions. It can be used in formulating possible changes in program rules resulting from new policies, examining the effects of such changes on the entire non-institutional population of the United States or a sub-population, and in comparing the results with current policy. It also provides a single source for detailed information on programs and their changes over time. TRIM3 can also be used to create data files for input into other applications, providing more detailed data than would otherwise be available. TRIM3 offers key advantages relative to other kinds of models. It can be used in examining how changes in one program or policy will ripple through others. By operating at the unit level, TRIM3 is able to capture interactions among simulated programs and can tabulate results by a wide variety of socioeconomic variables. Since results are tabulated according to the actual rules of the simulated program, a virtually unlimited number of policy scenarios can be modeled simply by changing the rules of the simulated program. Additional advantages of TRIM3 are its modularity, parameterization, historical continuity, and web-interface access. TRIM3 system configuration and technical policies provide a secure and stable platform for simulation work. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this contract is to obtain expert technical support services for performing the wide variety of complex tasks that are necessary in order to estimate the effects of altering government tax, transfer and health programs using the Transfer Income Model (TRIM) a complex microsimulation model owned by HHS. TRIM undergoes constant development and is currently updated annually to capture the latest changes in government tax and transfer programs. Among the major activities to be undertaken are: developing baselines providing information on current participation in government tax, transfer and health programs; producing estimates of the costs and caseload impacts that result from changes to existing and/or proposed government tax, transfer, and health programs; and, further development of TRIM3 to permit analysis of major new program alternatives. High priority activities and extremely short deadlines imposed by Secretarial, Administration, and Congressional requests make it necessary to supplement in-house capability. Project Requirements: The work under this contract is classified into six broad areas: (1) Providing for the basic maintenance of the model; (2) Obtaining expert technical assistance in analyzing the costs and impacts of alternative proposals for modifying tax, transfer and health programs; (3) Incorporating new data and program changes into the model to keep it up-to-date; (4) Performing baseline simulations that augment the input data, correct for underreporting of transfer program income on survey files, and permit comparison of the status quo and proposed alternatives; (5) Major upgrades and improvements to the model to reflect program changes and computer enhancements; and (6) Continued documentation, including maintaining an up-to-date website and training. Anticipated period of performance: The period of performance will include one 12-month base period and three 12-month option periods. Capability statement/information sought: Respondents must provide, as part of their responses, a capability statement, which addresses the following: (1) Familiarity with and demonstrated knowledge of the programs identified in Table 1 above. (2) Demonstrated ability to provide a) professional staff with successful academic and/or professional work experiences in modeling and analyzing the programs identified in Table 1 above; b) programming staff with work experiences in maintaining and furthering developing client-server computing systems including the publicly available website; c) work experiences with using microdata files such as the Current Population Survey and augmenting these files through statistical matching and other analytic techniques and d) the ability to direct and manage projects of this magnitude including solid fiscal management. (3) Demonstrated ability to provide staff with the skill set described in Item 2 above on a less than full time basis. (4) Demonstrated experience and expertise in providing quick turn-around analysis that produces high quality reports in response to high priority activities and extremely short deadlines imposed by Secretarial, Administration, and Congressional requests. Turn around requests can be as short as one work day. (5) Demonstration of ability to manage large projects that require the utilization of a wide range of staff on multiple tasks simultaneously. Respondents must include their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code. Include technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Submissions should be sent electronically to Ms. Camille Timmerman, Contract Specialist, at camille.timmerman@psc.hhs.gov. Responses must be double-spaced and single-sided on 8.5" x 11" plain white paper, with 1" margins on all side, using a standard font no smaller than 12 point. The response must be sequentially numbered, beginning on the first page after the table of contents. Responses are due by 5:00PM EST on March 4, 2011. Responses will not be accepted after the due date. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.
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