U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Program Contract Service Center (3803R), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460-0001

B -- RESEARCH OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION STRATEGIES SOL PR-98-02625 DUE 070998 POC Valoree S. Lilley, lilley.valoree@epa.epamail.gov E-MAIL: click here to contact the contract specialist, lilley.valoree@epa.epamail.gov. The Environmental Protection Agency under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR Part 13 intends to issue a sole source purchase order to Dr. Susan Charnly, Stanford University. The EPA is FACNET certified. SIC CODE is The contractor shall conduct research on how information strategies are used by communities and states to promote environmental protection, and on where and how that information is accessed. The contractor shall examine what role environmental information plays in influencing community- and state-level decision makers when making decisions that may have a significant impact on the environment and their legal, policy, or program implications. Also, the vertical flow of environmental information will be examined, between federal, regional, state and local decision makers, in order to gain an understanding of the mechanisms used to translate environmental information into better environmental quality and human health. The contractor should address the type and format of the information that decision makers primarily depend on and note particularly where that information originates; from the EPA, from another federal agency, from a public interest group, or elsewhere. The contractor will also address how that information is obtained; via the Internet, from a written report, or in another format. The contractor shall address the following areas with regard to decision makers: What types of environmental information have they used for a particular issue? (Issues such as brownfields, water, or air quality will be defined in advance.) Where do they get environmental information? From stakeholder groups, from EPA, from other government agencies? How does environmental information compare to other influencing factors? What type of environmental information carries the most weight? Can they point to specific environmental improvements or changes which can be linked to decisions which were influenced by environmental information? Where did that information come from? Task 1 The contractor shall perform an initial scoping exercise to determine where to conduct the case studies outlined in Task 2. From among the states in EPA Regions 3, 4, 5, and 9, all of which share an interest and involvement in environmental information initiatives, the contractor will assess which city/state combinations share similar types of environmental problems (e.g. ozone alerts, beach closures) and face similar urban issues (e.g. rapid growth). Holding as many external factors constant as is possible in the study will help make the results more comparable to similar regions across the country. At least one of the environmental issues examined will be a Superfund site and the set of information issues which accompany it. The contractor will then recommend to EPA, with reasons and in writing, three city/state combinations (e.g. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and identify the common environmental problems they share. If EPA concurs, these will be used as case studies for this project. If practicable, one of these areas will contain an EMPACT city. Task 2 The contractor shall perform three case studies to examine the flow of information and its use by decision makers. In three states and the selected communities within those states, the exchange and influence of information will be tracked and analyzed. The contractor may attend community meetings such as those held by the city council or planning commission, to observe how environmental information impacts decision making. The study shall identify, target, and interview key individuals in each county who make decision having significant impact on environmental quality. A cross-section of the targeted individuals should be interviewed. These individuals may include county boards of supervisors, city council members, city and regional planners, people managing agriculture preservation and open space districts, resource managers in agencies, those running electric and water utilities, and solid waste handlers. The study should contain an analysis of specific environmental consequences of environmentally related decisions to illustrate how environmental information used in decision making, or the lack of it, translates into tangible differences in the quality of the environment. The contractor will identify and target state-level decision makers from the selected case study cities. The contractor should include formal in depth interviews at the state level. Because the institutional arrangements under which decisions regarding the protection of human health and the environment vary between states, the set of decision makers to be interviewed will differ. The key categories to be targeted should include those working in state departments of environmental quality and departments of health services (or their analogs), and state legislators. Categories targeted may include employees in state departments of transportation or forestry. Schedule The period of performance is date of award through one year from the date of award. Approximate guidelines for this time frame, is as follows: 33% state level and 66% at community level. Deliverables A research design paper outlining the process that will be used to answer the questions set forth in the statement of work. The paper shall include a recommendation for the three city/state sets, and the common environmental problems they share, to use for this project. This paper shall be delivered to EPA not more than one month after the award of this contract. Quarterly progress reports submitted detailing who has been contacted, the circumstances of the interaction, and any preliminary information gathered. Final report containing the research findings and an analysis of both the community and state components of the project. Final report is due no later than one year from date of award. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE. All questions should be directed VIA E-MAIL to the contract specialist. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. SEE Notes 1 and 22. (0162)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0016 19980615\B-0006.SOL)