The U.S. Department of Education, for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), requires the services of a contractor with expertise in (a) logistical support to arrange and facilitate effective meetings and to assist in conference planning, peer review coordination and information dissemination services, and (b) technical, analytical, or scholarly work in support of educational research and demonstration programs and related dissemination activities.

OERI provides national leadership for educational research and statistics and strives to promote excellence and equity in American education by funding research and demonstration projects to help improve education; collecting statistics on the status and progress of schools and education throughout the nation; and distributing information and providing technical assistance to those working to improve education. Currently, OERI is composed of the following program offices: the National Center for Education Statistics; the Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination; the National Library of Education; Media and Information Services; and the five National Research Institutes--The National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum and Assessment; the National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students; the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education; the National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking and Management; and the National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries and Lifelong Learning. In addition, this contract will serve the needs of the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board.

The National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board (NERPPB) works in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary to develop research priorities and establish standards to govern the resources and activities of the research programs in OERI. Public members of the Board are appointed by the Secretary of Education and represent education researchers, schoolbased professional educators, parents, and others with expertise and broad perspectives on education.

The majority of the work under this contract will be logistical assistance for OERI or NERPPB in the conduct of conferences, small meetings, application and proposal peer review sessions and related activities. Products of conferences may include discussions and conference proceedings; published research papers and reports; analyses of particular subjects; research agendas; reviews and ratings of proposals; planning documents; brochures; and audio or video documentation. The number of peer reviews to be conducted each fiscal year is most often not known until the final budget is approved by Congress. In general, there is at least one peer review each year for which logistical assistance is needed and there may be many more.

Conferences, peer reviews and other activities will involve the exchange of views between individuals, agencies and organizations with expertise in issues affecting education in the United States and abroad. Such persons and groups include staff of the Congress and federal agencies, State and local governments, academicians, policy analysts, education associations, education researchers as well as users of education information and the education community in general.

The preparation time before a conference or peer review is sometimes only a few weeks. The contractor will often be asked to prepare proposals for work within very short timelines based on estimated numbers of participants or peer reviewers. In addition, when actual numbers of participants or peer reviewers are known, the contractor shall need the ability to adapt the scope of work. For example, in peer reviews, the contractor will be asked to propose work and a contract will be awarded based on estimates of the final requirements for number of peer reviewers needed. When the competition closes and the exact number of applications or proposals to be reviewed is determined, the contractor must adapt the scope of work accordingly. There may be less than one month between when the final requirements are known and the beginning of the peer review.

One of the roles of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement is to serve as the principle advisor to the Secretary of Education on educational research, statistics, and practices, as well as on the dissemination of information to improve practice. OERI conducts a number of activities to help inform the Secretary about the state of American education. Such activities include public comment on proposed research priorities, plans, and programs; gathering and synthesizing research and development findings that impact or improve practice; and collecting information on the progress of education by soliciting information and opinions from individuals, focus groups, associations, other Federal agencies, or within the context of large public forums.

To assist OERI in documenting, generating, and analyzing information and data from federal and non-federal sources on the status of American Education, OERI needs technical and analytical support that broadly encompasses activities of each of its National Research Institutes, the Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination, the National Library of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board.

This contract is for use by the various components of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, for all the programs administered by this Office at the time of award or added to it during the lifetime of the contract, and for all activities funded by those programs. Included in this definition is the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board.

The purpose of this contract is to provide technical support to assist OERI and NERPPB by providing planning and logistical assistance and technical support for peer review panels, meetings, and conferences; conducting activities that help us to reach our customers; document, record, and analyze public comments on our products and plans; and support, prepare, and manage the development of substantive documents or scholarly work that may include inventories and synthesis of current research. The work to be performed by the contractor will be defined in specific work assignments (tasks) which will specify task objectives, list all detailed requirements, and describe the work to be performed, deliverables, and schedules. The nature and scope of the work will vary from task to task. The majority of tasks will require the contractor to provide logistical assistance. Some tasks will require work of a scholarly nature including preparation of substantive papers and documents or inventories and syntheses of current research in specified areas of educational research. Some tasks will require both logistical assistance and scholarly endeavors.

These task orders will be issued by the Contracting Officer.

1. Conference Management Functions

The offeror must demonstrate capability for conference management, including pre-conference planning, logistical support for each meeting, and post-conference follow-up. The offeror must demonstrate specialized knowledge and proven experience in the following: Preconference Services:

• site selection and reservation -invitations and confirmations -travel and lodging arrangements -meeting room arrangements -registration fees
• editorial and graphics services.

Onsite Services

-registration

-speaker assistance

-recording and transcription (including video recording)

-room monitoring

-secretarial support

-audio-visual support

Postconference Services

-report on action

-proceeds

-summaries

-thank you letters

-evaluation reports

-reimbursement

-reconciliation and payment of invoices

OERI also requires logistical support for the review and evaluation of grant applications or contract proposals by panels of peer reviewers. The applications or proposals will be submitted in response to publicly announced competitions. Peer review support requirements may include:

The contractor shall identify and recommend individuals to serve the Department as peer reviewers of grant applications or contract proposals, or as consultants to take notes and analyze discussions at meetings or conferences, or as writers/scholars to prepare scholarly documents. The documents may include commissioned papers, inventories of programs and practices and syntheses of current research or practice. The program office will list qualifications desired, topical areas or expertise needed and specify due dates and other timeline requirements in a statement of work for each task order. Typical duties under this type of task include: preparing and submitting a list of recommended reviewers or consultants or authors to the COTR; contacting approved individuals to determine their availability; obtaining and submitting to the contracting officer (CO) and the contracting officer's technical representative (COTR) letters of commitment and documentation of consulting rates from commissioned individual(s); providing the individual(s) with the substantive scope of the work as identified by the COTR; contacting individuals in writing or by telephone to follow the status of the work; and informing the program office about the progress of the work as necessary, e.g., monthly, weekly, or daily as specified in the task order; instructing individuals on requirements of the work, e.g., to submit a predetermined number of copies of papers in draft and final according to a predetermined format (hard copy, on disk, etc.) and time frame which will be described in each task order; after review and approval by the COTR of draft submissions, communicating necessary changes to the individuals in writing and orally when clarification is needed for any written communications; and making arrangements for delivery of the final version of product according to instructions and timeframes specified in each task order. The contractor shall work directly with the program office and with the individual(s) in the management and administration of the work related to the analytical or scholarly products including, when necessary, arranging telephone conference calls with the individual, the contractor, and the program office to discuss progress, problems, or changes to the draft submission.

The contractor shall provide support for planning and conducting scholarly panels, meetings, and conferences. Each task order will provide the contractor with the panel or meeting or conference topic areas and the scope of the event. The contractor shall participate in planning the meetings and will be asked to obtain information about projects and products to be reviewed by the participants. For some panels, the contractor shall identify and recommend projects, products, and programs that may be reviewed by the panel. The contractor should have staff or consultants able to conduct focus group meetings that follow standard market research practices.

Task orders may require the contractor to attend, take notes and transcribe the conference proceedings and at times videotape the proceedings or provide for video conferencing. The contractor may also be required to produce a substantive syntheses of the proceedings within a very short time frame as identified in each task order. The contractor may also be required to provide all logistical support for the meetings (travel arrangements and hotel accommodations for participants).

To obtain public comment and review of OERI plans and products, the contractor shall identify, correspond or meet with and gather information from key organizations and associations, including those of groups that have not traditionally been reached or participated in this type of activity in the past. This requirement includes identifying and facilitating access to underrepresented educators, researchers, associations, community groups, etc., to obtain comment on OERI plans and products as specified by the statement of work for each task. The contractor shall identify and compile names, affiliations, addresses, phone numbers, etc., of contact persons from key organizations and associations, as well as information for individuals that the contractor or recommends be contacted for public comment. The contractor shall deliver the listing to the task order COTR within timelines specified in the task order.

When OERI has performed outreach activities and requested public response to specific plans and products, the contractor shall analyze the public responses and outreach activities. Duties in this area may include: obtaining copies of written comments; attending public forums (generally 1-2 days duration) and recording and making notes of public comments; analyzing the success of the outreach activities; and preparing draft and final reports of the analyses.

The contractor shall identify sources of information and practice. The contractor is required to search Federal and non-Federal sources for published and printed holdings of education and education related information. Sometimes information will exist in media other than print such as video, software, audiotape, etc. The contractor shall prepare an annotated bibliography listing resources, publications, videos, etc., found in the topical areas identified in the task order statement of work or by the COTR of the task order. In most cases bibliographies will be used to supplement work of the other tasks of this contract. The contractor may be required to scan documents into electronic format. As specified in the task or by the task order COTR, the contractor shall obtain or purchase resources identified in the annotated bibliography.

1. Graphic and Audio/Video Requirements

The contractor shall have in-house resources or access to resources to (a) design and produce graphics for overhead transparencies, hardcopy handouts, posters, publications and other items required for individual tasks; and (b) to provide audio and video materials.

The contractor shall make timely payment of honoraria and reimbursement expenses to authors, and experts, sponsored conference attendees and reviewers of grant and contract applications or proposals.

The contractor shall make every effort to select sites with access for handicapped individuals (including conference space, sleeping accommodations, and travel arrangements).

The contractor shall have knowledge of Federal and Education Department regulations that govern or restrict the use of program funds for food costs. There may be situations in which the contractor will be required to make logistical arrangements where the foods costs would be covered from sources other than the contract. Two possible examples are: (1) high priority conferences hosted by the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary that included receptions funded by other organizations; or (2) a tightly scheduled meeting that includes a working lunch to maximize the meeting time. The meal costs would be covered by the participants per them and Federal employees' direct payment.

Because each task order will be different, deliverables and timeframes will be determined by each individual task order. However, for each activity, the contractor shall submit a final report which contains the name of the activity and sites the task order number, a brief description of the purpose of the activity, a list of participants, final cost figures and any recommendations for improving the process in the future. Each invoice shall also identify the task order activity by name as well as contract modification (task order number). Invoices must have documentation attached with sufficient detail to identify specific costs, i.e., for travel expenses, the name of each person for whom travel is being paid; for honoraria, the name of each person paid; for authors, the name and percentage of payment; etc.

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