STATEMENT OF WORK

RFP-97-028

EVALUATION Of UPWARD BOUND (UB) PROGRAM

I. Summary

The objective of the UB program is to assist disadvantaged secondary school students to complete high school, and to improve their rates of enrollment and retention in postsecondary education. This work statement describes a 5 year study to evaluate the impact of the federally funded Upward Bound Program (UB) on college entry, persistence and graduation. Several key tasks described here are largely extensions of work underway as part of a current evaluation of Upward Bound that has focused on short-term high school effects of program participation (LC92001001).

The Higher Education Act authorizes the Secretary of Education to"evaluate the effectiveness of the various programs funded under this subpart." [Subpart 2, Chapter 1--Federal TRIO Programs, Sec. 402H, P.L.102-325]. Evaluations undertaken to date have concentrated on the two largest TRIO programs--Upward Bound and Student Support Services--which account for about 70 percent of total TRIO expenditures.

This evaluation will address four main questions:

1.	What are the effects of Upward Bound on college enrollment, persistence and graduation? To answer this question, the contractor shall conduct three follow-up surveys and collect college transcripts for the sample of program participants (who entered Upward Bound between December 1992-February 1994) and controls (referred to as the regular Upward Bound longitudinal survey).

2.	What Upward Bound program experiences and project strategies are most effective? Based on analysis of the differences in impact among projects (from second student follow-up and transcripts), the contractor shall undertake site visits to 9 "high impact" projects to identify key organizational, teaching, and motivational approaches, and to recommend strategies to improve program effectiveness.

3.	Does the Upward Bound Math-Science (UBMS) program increase the likelihood that participants enrolled in college will graduate as math or science majors? The contractor shall construct and collect data from a retrospective sample of participants in the UBMS that is comparable to students in the Regular Upward Bound survey.

4.	What is the ratio between Upward Bound costs and-benefits?

II. Background

A. Upward Bound

TRIO consists of 6 federally funded grant programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED)--Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers, Training Program for Special Services Staff and Leadership Personnel, and the Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program. In general, policy makers designed the TRIO programs to help economically disadvantaged students achieve success at the postsecondary level--by facilitating high school completion, entry, retention and completion of postsecondary education, and entry into graduate study.

Upward Bound grants are designed to improve college access and completion by assisting high school students aged 13-19 years old who are low income (family income under 150 percent of poverty) and/or potential first-generation college students (neither parent with a bachelor's degree). All student participants must be either potential first generation college students and/or low income individuals; in each project, however, two-thirds of the participants must be both low income and first generation. There are about 500 Upward Bound grantees. ED awards most grants to institutions of higher education (through competitions held every 4 years), although ED also awards grants to public and private agencies and organizations, and in exceptional circumstances, to secondary schools.

Veterans are eligible to participate in the program, and about 30 Upward Bound grants focus on this target population. This evaluation does not include Veterans Upward Bound projects.

In FY 90, ED began awarding additional Upward Bound grants to establish summer programs emphasizing math and science learning. There are now 81 such projects around the country. One part of this evaluation will assess the effectiveness of this undertaking.

FY 1996 Awards	Regular UB	UB Math-Science

Number of projects	601	81

Average award	$286,060	$234,000

Number of persons served	44,750	3,712

Average Federal cost per participant	$3,848	$5,134

B. ED's Current Evaluation of Upward Bound

In 1992, ED contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Contract Number LC92001001, to undertake a 5 year evaluation of Upward Bound. Initial findings from this evaluation focused on the short-term effects of Upward Bound during a period while most students were high school freshmen and sophomores. Data is currently being collected to assess longer term effects of Upward Bound on high school graduation and college entry.1

Methods and Data Sources Used in

Current Evaluation of Upward Bound

Impact findings are based upon a nationally representative sample of 67 Upward Bound projects hosted by two and four year colleges, from which 2800 eligible applicants were randomly assigned to Upward Bound or to a control group. Investigators estimated short-term impacts by comparing students in the two groups on a range of measures, including grades, course-taking, attitudes and educational expectations. A baseline survey was conducted beginning in December 1992, with a follow-up survey undertaken in Spring 1994. High school transcripts were collected following the 1993-94 school year.

Findings2

Enrollment and Persistence

•	Comparing Upward Bound applicants with other students from similar grades and from families with low socioeconomic status shows that Upward Bound applicants have higher educational attainment expectations, are better prepared academically, and have parents who are generally more involved in their children's school related activities.

•	Most students (about 90 percent) enter Upward Bound in the 9th or 10th grade, but about 20 percent of the applicants offered program openings choose not to participate, and almost 40 percent of those who accept an offer drop out of Upward Bound within 12 months. The most common reason for leaving Upward Bound is to take a job. Participants planning to complete college are more likely to remain in Upward Bound than are other participants.

Services

•	In addition to tutoring and counseling services, Upward Bound participants receive considerable academic instruction from the projects -- particularly in English, math and science. Overall, the typical participant attends more than 270 sessions throughout the year.

Short-Term Impacts

•	Participants and parents of participants had higher educational expectations than members of the control group.

•	Upward Bound participants earned significantly more academic credits during the period covered by this study, particularly in English, social studies and science and math. Program participants were exposed to approximately 17 percent more academic instruction than students in the control group.

--	Impacts related to credits are in part a product of some high schools offering credits for completing courses offered through Upward Bound, and in part a product of students earning additional credits for high school courses.

•	Participants who persist in Upward Bound for a longer period earn more credits in high school than other participants.

•	Certain sub-groups are more likely to experience short-term benefits from Upward Bound than others. Although Upward Bound participants with high and lower educational expectations (do not expect to complete at least a four-year college degree) both earn more academic credits, students with relatively lower educational expectations experience a much larger gain. The study also found positive short-term effects for Hispanic students.

•	Upward Bound had no effect on other student-related outcomes such as grade point average, attitudes, parental involvement and students' behavior in school.

These results describe the short-term impacts of Upward Bound while most students are high school freshmen and sophomores. The students in this study had not yet progressed far enough in school to estimate the program's effects on high school graduation, college entry or college attainment.

III. Overview of Evaluation Design and Data Sources

Main Questions	Data Source	Estimated Time line	Task
1. What are the effects of Upward Bound on college enrollment, persistence and graduation?	Follow-up surveys (3rd, 4th and 5th follow-up) of 2800 Upward Bound participants and controls in baseline sample; college transcripts	3rd follow up+transcripts:

8-12 months after contract award(Spring/Summer 1998);

4th follow up + transcripts:

32-36 months after contract award (Spring/Summer 2000).

5th follow up + transcripts: 56- 60 months after contract award (Spring/Summer 2002).	4
2. What Upward Bound program experiences and project strategies are most effective?	Statistical analysis to identify high impact projects; site visits to 9 "high impact" sites; statistical analysis of data from 3rd and 4th student follow- ups.	Spring/Summer 1998; 6-12 months after contract award

3
3. Does the Upward Bound Math- Science Initiative increase the likelihood that participants enrolled in college will graduate as math or science majors?	Identify sample of former participants in Upward Bound Math/Science; survey students and collect transcripts in conjunction with 3rd and 4th student follow-ups.	3rd followup+transcripts:8-12 months after contract award

(Spring/Summer 1998);

4th follow up + transcripts: 32- 36 months after contract award

(Spring/Summer 2000);

5th follow up + transcripts: 56- 60 months after contract award (Spring/Summer 2002)	4
4. Is Upward Bound cost- beneficial?	Analysis of data	40 months after contract award (Fall 2000),	5

In performing tasks described in this statement of work the contractor shall address the following issues:

1. What are the effects of Upward Bound on college enrollment, persistence and graduation?

In contrast to the current evaluation of Upward Bound (described in IIB), which focuses primarily on the high school experiences of Upward Bound participants and controls, this evaluation will address the mid- and longer term effects of the program on college enrollment, persistence and graduation. To answer this question, the contractor shall conduct three follow- up surveys and collect college transcripts for the sample of program participants (who entered Upward Bound between December 1992-February 1994) and controls(referred to as the regular Upward Bound longitudinal survey).

The contractor shall include and address (but is not limited to) the following basic research questions:

What are the effects of Upward Bound on college enrollment, and on type and selectivity of college attended?

What are the effects of Upward Bound on college persistence, progress, grades, graduation from college, and major field of study?

Does participation in Upward Bound reduce the incidence of remedial course-taking in college?

What are the effects of Upward Bound on early labor market experiences?

How does length of program participation affect program impacts? Are different impacts associated with the initial grade at which students entered the program?

What types of students benefit most from Upward Bound?

2. What Upward Bound program experiences and project strategies are most effective?

The contractor shall address this question through site visits and analysis of student survey data. Based on analysis of project level impacts (from data collected during the second student follow-up and transcripts), the contractor shall undertake site visits to 9 unusually effective projects.3 The purpose of the site visits is to identify key organizational, teaching, and motivational approaches.

The contractor shall also analyze data from the 3rd and 4th student follow up surveys to identify characteristics of projects with unusually effective long term impacts on students.

The contractor shall include and address (but is not limited to) the following basic research questions:

Are there any common philosophical, organizational, or educational features that clearly differentiate unusually effective Upward Bound projects from less effective ones?

What do findings suggest are the most promising strategies for program improvement?

What approaches are most likely to enhance retention in the Upward Bound program?

3. Does Upward Bound Math-Science program increase the likelihood that participants enrolled in college will graduate as math or science majors?

ED has considered a variety of approaches to estimate the effects of UBMS. Weighing the time, cost and accuracy of the results associated with various alternatives, ED has opted for a matched comparison design based upon a retrospective sample of former UBMS participants whose educational experiences will be compared with students in the regular Upward Bound evaluation.

The contractor shall construct a representative sample of former participants in UBMS for the purpose of comparing the educational experiences of these students to similar students in the Upward Bound evaluation--both regular Upward Bound participants and those in the control group.

The contractor shall include and address (but is not limited to) the following basic research questions:

Does UBMS improve participants' preparation for college study in math and science?

What is the effect of UBMS on participants' likelihood of majoring in the field of math or science? Graduating from college with a math or science major?

Does participation in UBMS have an effect on the number of college courses taken in these fields, level of courses taken, or grades?

Are some UBMS projects more effective than others? What project characteristics are associated with project effectiveness? Do some students benefit more than others?

Does UBMS enhance the regular Upward Bound experience? In what ways?

4. What is the Upward Bound cost-benefit ratio?

For every federal dollar invested in Upward Bound, what is the return to the federal, state and local governments based on participant's increased earnings, reductions in welfare dependency and incarceration, etc?

IV. Tasks

The contractor shall submit all deliverables to ED's COTR per the Schedule of Deliverables (V). The COTR will notify the contractor within two weeks of receipt of changes required in the draft deliverables. The contractor shall then have two weeks to make the necessary changes and submit a final deliverable to ED.

THE TASKS LISTED BELOW DO NOT REPRESENT A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF ALL TASKS REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE CONTRACT'S OBJECTIVES. PLEASE REFER TO INSTRUCTION ON THE ORGANIZATION OF TECHNICAL PROPOSAL AND THE ADDITIONAL PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DETAILS.

Task 1: ED Kick-off Meeting

The contractor shall meet with the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR), the Contract Specialist, persons responsible for operating the Upward Bound program within the Department of Education and other relevant Department of Education staff. The purpose of this meeting shall be to obtain information from these sources to enhance quality of the evaluation. Following the meeting, the contractor shall prepare a: 1)memo summarizing key issues and concerns raised at the meeting and how each will be addressed in the study; and 2) a short 1-3 page summary of study purposes, methods and timelines suitable for broad distribution.

Deliverable --

Memo summarizing issues at kick-off meeting

1-3 page summary of evaluation

Task 2: Establish Technical Review Group (TRG)

The contractor shall establish a Technical Review Group to provide the contractor with outside expertise to help design, implement and ensure the overall quality of this study. The contractor shall ensure that the TRG consists of researchers and practitioners with programmatic experience related to the study. The contractor shall identify a list of potential group members. The Technical Review Group will consist of 6-8 people. The contractor shall submit a memo identifying proposed members of the TRG and describing their expertise.

The contractor shall convene 2 one or two day meetings of the TRG over the course of this contract, and hold these meetings at facilities provided by the contractor. The contractor shall determine the timing and scope of these meetings. Members of the TRG will review and advise the contractor as individuals on all major study plans, analysis plans and reports.

The contractor shall cover the travel, per diem and honorarium expenses of TRG members.

Deliverables -- Memo on Potential Members for the Technical Review Group

Task 3: Conduct Case Studies of High Impact Sites

To determine which educational strategies work best, and thus, how Upward Bound projects can be improved, the contractor shall conduct in-depth case studies of exemplary Upward Bound programs. The contractor shall compare the educational and organization strategies in these sites with findings from previously undertaken case studies of a cross-section of grantees.

The contractor shall:

Identify and select a sample of 9 Upward Bound projects with above average impact on students, based on data from the 2nd student follow-up. The contractor shall ensure that sites chosen reflect diversity in the type of higher education institution represented, demographic characteristics of participating students, region, and urban/rural location. The contractor shall exclude sites where there has been a change in project leadership or redirection since 2nd follow-up data was collected. The contractor shall prepare and submit to ED a memo describing the manner in which sites were selected for case studies, methodological issues that arose, and the evidence of project impact upon which selections were made;

Conduct site visits to identify critical components of project practice that may account for its effectiveness. The contractor shall identify and examine a wide range of formal and informal factors including, but not limited to, issues related to organization, program structure, leadership, philosophy and goals, curriculum, services provided, links to high schools, postsecondary institutions and community groups, recruitment, selection and retention of students, diagnosis of student needs, design of services to fit individual needs, assessment of student progress, parent involvement, assisting the transition to postsecondary education, and follow-up of student persistence in postsecondary education. Prior to conducting case studies the contractor shall submit to ED the draft interview protocols that will guide data collection;

The contractor shall compare unusually effective Upward Bound projects with "typical" projects. The contractor shall design case studies to collect information on both the summer and academic year components of each project. The contractor shall submit a report to ED on key features of highly effective Upward Bound projects,

At the conclusion of the case studies (12 months after contract award), the contractor shall prepare and submit to ED a report that presents findings and descriptions across all the sites. The purpose of the report is to identify a) organizational and programmatic approaches that appear to differentiate the most promising Upward Bound projects from others, and b) barriers to effectiveness and ways that the projects have attempted to overcome these barriers.

Deliverables

Site Selection memo--due 4 months after the effective date of the contract.

Case Study protocols--due 4 months after the effective date of the contract

Case Study Report on Strategies in Highly Effective Upward Bound Projects--due 12 months	after the effective date of the contract

Task 4. Conduct Longitudinal Surveys

Subtask 4.1 Development of Data Collection Instruments

The contractor shall collect data through the use of student surveys, school transcripts and program participation records:

The contractor shall design surveys to measure students' education, work and family status, including but not limited to education and career expectations and plans, participation in postsecondary education(full or part-time enrollment, extracurricular activities, counseling), work and family status, and how well-prepared students think they are for college.

Student participation records indicate continued enrollment and attendance in Upward Bound. The government expects that the contractor will request, and UB project staff will complete participation records for those students in the sample who participated in Upward Bound and were still enrolled in high school as of Summer 1996, when the 2nd student follow-up survey was conducted. This will involve participation records for approximately 250 students.

The contractor shall request student transcripts to coincide with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th student follow-up surveys. In most cases, this will involve collection of postsecondary transcripts, but the contractor shall also obtain high school transcripts for: 1)students in the regular Upward Bound survey who were enrolled but did not graduate from high school by Summer 1996, when the 2nd follow-up was conducted (approximately 250 students); and 2)sampled students in the Upward Bound Math-Science program (approximately 1400 students).

The contractor shall ensure that development of instruments includes a pre-test and revision based on pre-test results.

The contractor shall submit drafts of all data collection instruments within 3 months after the effective date of contract award. Following the pre-test of student survey instruments, the contractor shall submit a brief memo describing results.

Deliverable

Draft (3 months after effective date of contract award) and Revised Instruments(4 months)

Memo on pre-test results (3.5 months after effective date of contract award)

Subtask 4.2 Prepare OMB Clearance Package

The contractor shall prepare a forms clearance package describing the data collection instruments for approval by OMB. The contractor shall prepare the necessary forms required for OMB clearance. The contractor shall ensure that the clearance package justifies the necessity for collecting the data and comprehensively responds to each required item in the instructions. The contractor shall ensure that the forms clearance package includes brief, concise statements of a) the study mandate and objectives, b) types of information the contractor requests, c) steps taken to minimize respondent burden, d) the sampling plan, e) plans for tabulating data, f) the data collection schedule, g) steps taken to have plans reviewed by outside persons, h) estimates of burden for each type of respondent and how such figures were estimated, i) discussion of questions likely to be deemed "sensitive" by OMB, if any, and j) estimates of the cost of the activity. The contractor shall append copies of the instruments, marked to show the study's purpose and the voluntary nature of the respondent's participation, as well as table shells indicating how data will be tabulated and analyzed.

Forms clearance typically takes 120-160 days. Data cannot be collected without OMB approval and clearance. Therefore in planning and scheduling the mail survey, the contractor must take into account the amount of time required for forms clearance.

Deliverable -- OMB Clearance Package(draft and final)

Subtask 4.3: Select Sample

The contractor shall collect and administer survey instruments (described in subtask 4.1) to a sample of respondents in the regular Upward Bound survey (2800 respondents) and from a newly chosen sample of approximately 1400 students who participated in the Upward Bound Math-Science initiative during the period from 1993-1996.

In selecting the UB Math-Science sample, the contractor shall first select a representative sample of projects and then a sample of student participants. The contractor shall ensure that the number of projects and students sampled is designed to maximize the ability to detect statistically significant differences. After selecting the project sample, the contractor shall identify and replace those projects it determines are unable to identify former participants. The contractor shall then request projects to provide each students' name, address, telephone number, high school attended, and social security number. The contractor shall prepare a memo describing any problems encountered in constructing a representative sample of former UBMS participants and obtaining necessary tracking information.

Deliverable -- Memo on survey sample (6 months after effective date of contract award)

Subtask 4.4: Conduct survey

After receiving OMB clearance and approval, the contractor shall conduct the survey by means of telephone interviews. The government anticipates an 85 percent or higher response rate to the survey. If the response rate is below 85 percent two weeks after the contractor completes all telephone contacts, the contractor shall undertake alternative measures in consultation with the COTR to boost response.

The contractor shall conduct the 3rd follow up survey 8-12 months after contract award (Spring 1998); the 4th follow up survey 32-36 months after contract award (Spring 2000) and the 5th follow-up survey 56-60 months after contract award (Spring 2002). While surveys are underway, the contractor shall prepare a brief monthly memo summarizing response rates, problems encountered and strategies for addressing these problems.

Deliverables -- Monthly Memos on Progress of the Survey

Subtask 4.5: Collect Student Transcripts

The contractor shall collect high school and postsecondary transcripts for all students in the study. The contractor shall assume that it shall collect approximately 3500 postsecondary transcripts and 1450 high school transcripts. The contractor shall collect transcripts at the conclusion of student surveys, as described in Subtask 4.4.

Subtask 4.6: Create Data Base

The contractor shall code the data from subtasks 4.4 and 4.5, and place it in a computer- accessible format. The contractor shall ensure the accuracy through careful edits and checks to ensure quality control. The contractor shall resolve problems identified in this process through phone calls to the respondents.

Deliverables -- Coding Materials

Subtask 4.7: Conduct Analysis

Using the data base developed in Subtask 4.6, the contractor shall conduct analyses to address the issues described in III (Overview of Evaluation Design and Data Sources). The contractor shall conduct analyses following collection of 3rd and 4th follow up data. The contractor shall submit tables containing results from analysis of the 3rd follow up data to ED for review within 16 months of the effective contract date. The contractor shall submit tables on the 4th follow up 38 months after the effective date of contract award.

Deliverable -- Tables (due 16 months after effective date of contract award; due 38 months after effective date of contract award).

Task 5. Cost-Benefit Analysis

Although the costs of assisting Upward Bound students are high, do the benefits to taxpayers exceed the costs? Increased educational attainment may benefit taxpayers through increased tax revenues, reduced dependence on welfare and food stamps, etc. The contractor shall estimate the relationship between program costs and public benefits associated with program impact.

Deliverable -- Cost-benefit analysis due 40 months after effective date of contract award.

Task 6. Interim and Final Report

The contractor shall prepare interim and final report(s) including documentation of all study procedures and results of the evaluation based on results from the 3rd and 4th student follow- up surveys. The contractor shall ensure that these reports shall contain separate chapters on the effects of UB Math-Science. The COTR will review each draft interim and final report. The COTR will review the draft report within three weeks of its receipt, and provide written comments to the contractor. The contractor shall revise this report (assume two revisions), and upon acceptance by ED, the contractor shall submit 100 copies of the final report, and 100 copies of an executive summary to ED. The contractor shall submit a camera ready copy of the interim and final report.

The contractor shall submit a draft of the first interim report to ED within 18 months after the effective date of contract award. The contractor shall submit to ED a draft of the final report 42 months after the effective date of the contract. The contractor shall also submit the entire data base on diskettes and documentation of all records and files.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Contract Phase Out

a.	The Contractor shall present a detailed plan for the phase-out period and/or transition period. The Contractor shall ensure that the plan includes procedures for minimizing impact on contract performance, before and after any transition.

b.	The Contractor's Phase-Out Plan shall:

(1) Present procedures for retaining the required staffing level (including key personnel) necessary to provide complete contractual support through expiration of the contract.

(2) Describe in detail how responsibility and accountability will be relinquished for all Government-furnished or Contractor-furnished data, designs, and/or products and equipment that the Contractor has used, created, provided, and/or delivered in association with the contracted requirement entitled "Evaluation of Upward Bound (UB) Program." The Contractor shall submit to the government's Contract Specialist a list and schedule for delivery of the forementioned items.

c.	The Contractor shall coordinate its activities with the incoming Contractor and Contract Specialist or Grantee and Grant Specialist to effect a smooth and orderly transition at the end of the contract period.

d.	The Contractor shall remove all Contractor-owned equipment, tools, parts, and belongings from the Government-furnished spaces, should same exist, by midnight on the last day of the contract.

Deliverables

Phase Out Plan -- due 6 months prior to contract expiration.

List and Schedule -- due 6 months prior to contract expiration.

V. Schedule of Deliverables

Task	Deliverable	Date Due*	# of Copies
1	Memo summarizing issues at kick-off meeting

1-3 page summary of evaluation

Draft

Final	2

2

4	3

2

50
2	Memo on Technical Review Group	2	1
3	Site selection memo

Case study protocols

case study draft report

case study final report	4

4

12

13	3

3

6

25
4	Instruments

Subtask 4.1

Draft

Pre-test results memo

Final

Subtask 4.2: OMB Clearance Package

Draft

Final

Subtask 4.3: Memo on Sample Selection for UB Math-Science

Subtask 4.4: Memos on Progress of the Surveys

Subtask 4.6: Coding material

Subtask 4.7: Tables

3rd student follow-up

4th student follow-up

3

3.5

4

3

4

6

monthly progress repts.

12

16

40

3

1

3

3

3

5

1

1

3

3
5	Cost-Benefit Analysis

Draft

Final

40

41

3

5
6	First Interim Report

Draft

Final

Final Report

Draft

Final

Data Base (including 5th follow up survey + transcripts)

Data Base Documentation

18

20

42

48

60

60

5

100

5

100

1

5
* Due date indicates the number of months following the effective date of the contract.

DELIVERABLE REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall submit one paper copy of all final deliverables over 25 pages in length, with the contract number clearly identified to:

Thomas Adams, Contract Specialist

U.S. Department of Education

Contracts and Purchasing Operations

7th and D Streets, S.W.

GSA-NCR Building, ROB-3

Room 3636, MS-4444

Washington, D.C. 20202-4444

The contractor shall submit all final deliverables over 25 pages in length on a floppy disk in WordPerfect 6.1 or compatible format, with the contract number clearly identified to the Contract Specialist at the address cited above.

The contractor shall send all correspondence, reports and deliverables 25 pages and under in length to the above Contract Specialist at the Internet address:

Thom_Adams@Ed.Gov

in WordPerfect 6.1 or compatible format.

NOTE: The contractor shall reference the contract number on the first page and/or cover page of every document it submits to the government.

NOTE: Where practical, the contractor shall identify every page of every document that it submits to the government with a unique identifier (e.g., page number).

NOTE: Where practical, the contractor shall use E-Mail to send all documents to the government unless the government specifies otherwise. The contractor shall send non-critical material to the government via United States Postal Service, First Class/Priority Mail. The contractor shall not use overnight, express, next-day, or other similar shipping services unless the government specifies that a particular item is critical.

Instructions to Offerors

Organization of the Proposal

NOTE:Offerors must contact Thomas C. Adams, Contract Specialist, at 202 708-9229 for all relevant materials, including a Cost Estimate Summary package, and any other information related to this RFP.

NOTE: Offerors must submit the original copy of the technical and cost proposal and the Contractor Performance Information unbound without holes on regular 8 ½ inch x 11 inch paper suitable for easy photocopying.

NOTE: Every page in both the Technical and Business/Cost proposal must have a unique page number.

Offerors are requested to follow the proposed format and content suggestions detailed in this section in preparing their technical proposals:

1.Abstract. A one-page summary should be provided abstracting the proposal contents in language understandable to an informed layperson.

2	Table of Contents. The Table of Contents should briefly provide a means of quickly accessing important points of discussion in the proposal, and should contain either 2 or 3 levels of headings.

3.Introduction. The Introduction should briefly provide an impression of the offeror's general understanding of the study's objectives, scope of work, intended products, and applicability of those products.

4.Procedural Plan. This section should fully describe the theoretical and technical approach the offeror will employ in complying with sections III (Overview of Evaluation Design and Data Sources) and IV (Tasks) enumerated in the statement of work. While a general statement of strategy is appropriate, procedures should be specific with regard to each task, [especially tasks 3-6] and should reflect efficient utilization of the offeror's resources. Identify potential and/or anticipated problems, and suggest proposed variations in the design of the study which may facilitate successful completion of the study's tasks and objectives.

5.Management Plan. This section shall provide a listing and description of each task. The tasks must be listed in order of substantive relationship or serially in order of chronological completion dates. Indicate the names of key personnel for each task as well as hours to be allocated for each person for each task. As appropriate, indicate significant non-personnel kinds of resources to be applied to each task.

Provide the expected end date for each task, preferably in calendar months from the effective date of the contract.

Provide a graphic display along with a statement that shows interrelationships between tasks.

Provide milestones in calendar months from the effective date of the contract for such items as key events, deliverables, and for ED approval of performed work.

Provide time for any ED approval required before initiating work on key events or tasks (e.g., OMB forms clearance, draft reports, etc.).

Provide time for any contractor internal review and clearance procedures.

Provide a description of each substantive document (e.g., charts, reports, etc.) to be delivered by the contractor to ED. Provide a schedule of delivery for each item, preferably in calendar months from the effective date of the contract. Offerors should uniquely identify each deliverable with an alpha/numeric character.

Provide a listing of materials or services the offeror expects ED to provide (e.g., data tapes, applications, reports, etc.).

Provide a description of the proposed ADP security program.

6.Related Experience of Proposed Staff. This section should indicate clearly the relationship between past staff experience and proposed task assignments for this study. Each senior staff person should be clearly identified and his/her qualifications should be fully described. To conduct and complete this contract successfully, the offeror must propose staff who, together, have recognized expertise in the following areas: research in educational policy and evaluation, large scale project management and design, access and retention of minorities and disadvantaged students in postsecondary education, sampling, research design and analysis, survey and case study research, and interviewing and interpersonal skills.

7.Resources/Facilities/Equipment. This section should briefly identify those resources (other than personnel), facilities, and equipment available for use in carrying out the activities of this project.

8.Organizational Experience. This section should describe pertinent experience and qualifications in conducting the conceptual, information collection and written tasks outlined in the work statement. Short abstracts of current work shall include the name, current affiliation and current telephone number of the study's project officer.

9.Current Contractual Obligations. The proposal should indicate the time commitments to both federal and non-federal contractual obligations (as well as outside consulting assignments) by all personnel who will be assigned to this project. Assigned personnel must be identified by name and the percentage of their time allocated to those contractual obligations.

Authors of the Proposal

The senior author and coauthors of each section of the technical proposal must be identified by name.

Alternative Approaches

Offerors are encouraged to suggest better, more efficient or creative ways to conduct this study than have been outlined in the statement of work. Significant differences from the approach suggested in the RFP should be fully described and justified.

Additional Instructions for Specific Tasks

Task 2

Offerors are invited to make preliminary nominations of TRG members.

Task 3

We invite offerors to recommend additional appropriate criteria for the selection of case study sites in addition to those discussed in task 3.

Offerors should address major conceptual problems/limitations involved in case study research on exemplary programs, and plans by which these issues may be addressed.

Additional Cost Proposal Instructions

Meetings

The offeror should estimate costs for quarterly one-day visits to ED to brief the COTR The offeror must estimate costs for 6 trips to brief TRIO grantees on study progress and results.

Technical Review Group (TRG)

The offeror should include costs associated with the Technical Review Group. Costs should include reimbursement of TRG members for inter-city travel, and for lodging in the form of a per diem, along with an honorarium for time spent in meetings and reviewing documents.

Interviewers

Offerors should estimate costs of using field interviewers. Costs should include the costs of training, salary, number of interviewers, and average length of employment.

30 Day Summary Reports

Every 30 days (beginning on the 30th day after the effective date of this contract), the Contractor shall deliver to ED a one-page summary report. In the summary report the Contractor shall either:

list in bullet form any problems encountered during that 30 day period, particularly those that may affect the quality of a deliverable or may cause changes in the Schedule of Deliverables, in which case, the Contractor shall submit to the CO a separate letter under separate cover requesting a modification to the Schedule of Deliverables;

or:

state that there were no problems during that month and that the Contractor is requesting no changes to the Schedule of Deliverables.

The Contractor shall deliver 1 copy of the 30 day summary report to the CO under separate cover from the monthly progress report, and shall deliver 1 copy of the 30 day summary report to the COTR. The Contractor shall deliver the summary report via the Internet or USPS or both.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

.
Criteria	Points
A. Soundness of the Technical Proposal

1.	Demonstrated understanding of the purpose and context of the study, the major issues and study objectives, and how they relate to each task.

2.	Quality of the activities proposed to accomplish each task, including the clarity, feasibility, creativity and soundness of plans for carrying out each task, the identification of any design improvements, anticipated problems and recommended solutions.	45
B. Technical Qualifications of Proposed Staff

1. Project Director

a. Experience and skill in managing complex program evaluations which involve problematic issues of design, data collection and analysis.

b. Training and experience in educational research or other

fields related to this study.

c. Adequacy of time commitment.

d. Evidence of successful work in conducting previous studies of a. similar nature.

2. Project Staff

a. Experience, technical training and other qualifications that are appropriate for the task assignments.

b. Appropriate balance of qualitative and quantitative research skills.

45

C. Management of Tasks and Study Procedures

1. Procedures for performing tasks to meet RFP requirements in a cost-effective manner.

2. Procedures for controlling work performance, coordinating work of sub-contractors, and ensuring work quality and	timeliness.

3. Time commitments of key staff.

5
D. Related Corporate Experience

1. Evidence of prior successful experience in conducting large

scale and complex educational evaluations.	5