AWARD
99 -- The H-1B Technical Skills Training Evaluation
- Notice Date
- 10/5/2017
- Notice Type
- Award Notice
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Labor, Employment Training Administration, Office of Contracts Management (National), 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, N-4649, Washington, District of Columbia, 20210, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20210
- Point of Contact
- Deborah S. Campbell, , Isabelle Nguyen,
- E-Mail Address
-
campbell.deborah@dol.gov, nguyen.isabelle@dol.gov
(campbell.deborah@dol.gov, nguyen.isabelle@dol.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- 1630DC-17-F-00013
- Award Date
- 9/15/2017
- Awardee
- ABT Associates, Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Award Amount
- $4,197,253.46
- Description
- PER FAR PART 8.405-6, THIS IS THE POST AWARD NOTICE. LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION Far Part 8.4 - Federal Supply Schedule 1. Identification of the Agency and Contracting Activity Contracting Activity: US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Contracts Management Division of Contract Services and Policy Administration 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20210 Customer Agency: US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Policy Development and Research Division of Research and Evaluation 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington DC, 20210 2. Nature and Description of the action being approved This Limited Source Justification and Approval authorizes and approves the issuance of a follow-on contract to Abt Associates, 55 Wheeler St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, to continue conducting the H-1 B Technical Skills Training (H-1B) evaluation as the culmination of a competition on ETA's Research and Evaluation Initiatives Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). The H-1B evaluation is conducting an implementation and impact study of four H-1 B grants that includes conducting process studies, site visits, implementation and monitoring of random assignment, a follow-up survey, data analysis and reporting of findings from the evaluation. The period of performance is anticipated to be 56 months from the date of award. 3. A Description of the Supplies or Services required to meet the Agency' s Needs (Including the Estimated Value) The proposed action requires the contractor to build upon the existing order to complete the evaluation of the four H-I B grants selected for participation in the study and deliver reports with their findings to DOL. In order to do this, Abt Associates will use existing data collected in the baseline information form at enrollment, the follow-up survey, and administrative data, match and analyze that data to measure outcomes for participants, and disseminate the results of the evaluation. It must be clear that through this evaluation, DOL is buying reports that tell us about the effectiveness of H-1B programs. Abt Associates houses the data that will tell us about participant outcomes, and they have agreements with the H-I B grantees and program participants about how the data will be used. DOL does not house and will not have access to any data that identifies program participants. Current status In order to complete the H-1B evaluation in a follow-on contract as described above, additional time and a small amount of resources are needed. An Independent Government Cost Estimate indicates that the additional net cost of this action is $200,000. Due to the delays described above, $3,997,852 (H-18 dollars, which is no-year money) not expended under the original contract has been de-obligated and will be re-obligated in September 2017 to this follow-on contract, along with an additional $200,000 from the Chief Evaluation Office, for a total of $4,197,852. The original contract will end early, on September 15, 2017, and the follow-on contract will begin immediately after and have a period of performance of 56 months. This new period of performance accounts for the government delays, including the grantees' enrollment challenges, and a longer-term follow-up period of data collection in order to meet the government's objectives for this independent, third party evaluation. It is a reasonable timeframe to complete a project of this magnitude and meet the government's need. This additional action will cover all costs, including direct labor, subcontracts, travel, materials and supplies, and indirect costs. 4. Identification of the Authority and Rationale FAR 8.405-6 - Limiting Sources. This work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order in which the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original order was not previously issued under sole­ source or limited sources procedures. Abt Associates has rights to collect and maintain all the data already collected under the existing order, in accordance with applicable privacy laws, for the express purpose of conducting the H-1B evaluation. The services being provided under the H-1B evaluation are highly specialized and dependent on this data; without a follow-on, the time and money the Federal government has invested to-date would be lost. 5. Determination by the ordering activity that the order represents the best value FAR 8.404(d) Abt Associates is already under contract to DOL to conduct the H-1B implementation and impact evaluation and deliver reports on the study's findings. The evaluation team has already collected informed consent and baseline information on more than half of the study's participants; they can only use this data for the H-18 evaluation. And, they have already obtained Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to conduct the 18-month follow-up survey, which they have developed and administered to 639 people so far. They also have an evaluation design in place to complete data collection needed to meet the government' s requirement, including the necessary MOU with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to collect employment-related administrative data on these participants' outcomes from the NDNH (via PII). Abt Associates is the only entity that can match this data to what they have already collected for the express purpose of conducting the H-1B evaluation. The government.does not house or have access to this data, and no other contractor can access or use this data. This means that no other contractor can complete this work. Only Abt Associates can access the data collected to date and finalize the study. 6. A Description of Market Research Conducted and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research was not conducted Abt Associates houses, and therefore is the only firm that has the authority to access and use, the data already collected under the H-1B evaluation, including the baseline information, follow-up survey, site visits, and administrative (NDNH) data. However, DOL staff conducted market research of similar firms which have provided services on similar evaluations of ETA grants, and have found the activities included in the request for the follow-on contract to be reasonable.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOL/ETA/OJC/Awards/1630DC-17-F-00013.html)
- Record
- SN04707140-W 20171007/171005230956-6b53e5004dccc6c01bbe8bdd3db4e12e (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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