Office of Personnel Management, Procurement Division 1900 E. Street, N.W., Room SB-427 Washington, DC 20415

B -- ANNUAL LIVING-COST SURVEYS SOL OPM-RFP-95-01535JCB POC Raymond Hesson, Contracting Officer, 202/606-1045 Judy Brader, Contract Specialist, 202/606-1924. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is soliciting proposals for comprehensive living-cost surveys to be conducted in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (the ''allowance'' areas) and in the Washington, DC, area (the ''reference'' area). A total of 20 localities will be surveyed: 4 in Alaska, 5 in Hawaii, 1 in Guam, 2 in Puerto Rico, 2 in the Virgin Islands, and 6 in the Washington, DC, area. All surveys must be conducted during the month of February. The surveys involve the collection of over 8,500 price quotes on over 200 goods and services from over 3,000 businesses. Many of the items priced are inherently complex, such as housing, transportation, insurance and maintenance. Furthermore, to the maximum extent practical, the same item, brand, model, and size must be priced at comparable outlets in each locality, which increases the complexity of the surveys and requires close attention to detail. The purpose of the surveys is to compare living-costs between the allowance areas and the reference area. Survey results are used to set cost-of-living allowances that are paid to Federal employees in the allowance areas. The program is sensitive and subject to scrutiny by Members of Congress, Federal employees, and attorneys representing these employees. It is critical, therefore, that surveys be conducted with great care and with particular attention to detail. Quality control is extremely important to ensure that the price data are collected accurately and can withstand close review. The contractor must document thoroughly its survey procedures and quality control methodologies. It is likely that the contractor will be required to explain and defend its survey work before various audiences, including Members of Congress, Federal employees and their representatives, or in Federal court, based on its expertise in the field of living-cost comparisons. All data collected must be public and available for full disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Data must be provided to OPM in hard copy and in electronic format. OPM will perform all comparative analyses and write final comparative living-cost reports. The contract period will be for one year. Solicitation OPM-RFP-95-01535JCB is expected to be released 15 days after publication of this notice. OPM reserves the right to make this procurement a small-business set-aside under SIC 8742 should there be sufficient responses to indicate that 2 or more samall businesses are capable of performing the work. All responsible sources may submit an offer. No telephone requests for the solicitation package will be accepted. Requests may be faxed to 202/606-1464. All requests must reference Solicitation OPM-RFP-95-01535JCB. Offerors who wish to use the OPM Mainstreet Electronic Bulletin Board to download the solicitation in WordPerfect 5.1 must request the registration and login procedures in writing. (0178)

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