B -- REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE FOR THE VISITOR SERVICES PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Notice Date

September 18, 2000

Contracting Office

Cooperative Park Studies Unit, College of Forestry, Wildlife & Range Sciences, Room 16, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1133

ZIP Code

83844-1133

Response Due

November 15, 2000

Point of Contact

Sandy Watson, fax 208-885-4261 email swatson@uidaho.edu

Description

CONSUMER BUSINESS DAILY NOTICE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE FOR THE VISITOR SERVICES PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE The increasing diversity and number of visitors to parks, forests and other recreational areas calls for a better understanding of visitor characteristics and needs. Knowledge about visitors can be useful to managers of recreational sites, professionals in the tourism industry, researchers within universities or the private sector, and others interested in recreation issues. The need for and value of such knowledge has prompted the National Park Service (NPS) to learn more about visitors to the parks, historic sites, recreation areas and other units of the National Park System. The Visitor Services Project (VSP) began in 1982 when the NPS requested the staff of the University of Idaho (UI) Cooperative Park Studies Unit (CPSU) to develop a new approach to visitor studies. The UI CPSU developed a technique based on mail-back questionnaires distributed to a sample of visitors during a specific study period. Today, the VSP is an ongoing research project and research team housed at the UI. The VSP includes two main survey tools which provide the NPS with valuable visitor feedback. They are 1) in-depth visitor studies, and 2) a customer satisfaction card. The purpose of this Request for Proposals is to develop and implement use of a Comprehensive Visitor Services Project (VSP) Database that contains visitor responses from both the in-depth studies and customer satisfaction card surveys. The project and its deliverables will provide the National Park Service (NPS) and other clients with access to comparative data about park visitors. In addition, the database will allow for monitoring visitor trends over time and across geographic regions. Finally, the database will allow for the creation of necessary and requested NPS reports containing VSP data. The Comprehensive VSP Database Project requires 12 major tasks be accomplished, all requiring significant consultation with the UI CPSU staff: 1) schedule and hold a minimum of 2 planning sessions with UI CPSU staff to be held at the University of Idaho, 2) select an appropriate database software package, 3) determine the database design and query structure, 4) develop and implement a method for importing all existing in-depth study and customer satisfaction card data files into the database, 5) develop and implement an easy-to-use procedure for adding new in-depth study and customer satisfaction card data into the database, as future studies are completed, 6) develop a program to automatically insert bar graphs (created from individual park customer satisfaction survey results) into data reports, 7) prepare a 6-month progress report, 8) install the completed database (including data from approximately 100 in-depth visitor studies and approximately 600 customer survey card studies) on a UI CPSU computer, 9) with the UI CPSU staff, test the operation of the database and all related software for proper operation, and provide a written report on this test, 10) prepare a written operations manual for use in training individuals to use the database, 11) schedule and hold two final training sessions, and train members of the UI CPSU research team on use of the database, and 12) provide technical support for necessary training and debugging of database problems during the first 6 months of use. The research project will be awarded as a subcontract, funded through the existing Cooperative Agreement between the NPS and the UI CPSU, and managed by the NPS Social Science Program. The cost is expected to be within the range of $50,000 to $80,000 including all overhead charges. A copy of the full Request for Proposals (RFP) packet is required to prepare a competitive proposal. Copies of the RFP packet can be sent by surface mail only (they are not available electronically or by express courier service) and can be requested by contacting Sandy Watson via fax at 208-885-4261 or email at swatson@uidaho.edu. Proposals must be received no later than 15 November 2000 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20000920/BSOL004.HTM (W-262 SN497898)