WIC NUTRITION SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATION COST STUDY

This is a Sources Sought Notice for market research purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). A solicitation is not being issued at this time and this notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Office of Research and Analysis (ORA) in the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) intends to issue a competitive procurement for a contractor to conduct a national Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) Cost Study. Since 1974, WIC has provided nutrition supplementation, nutrition education and counseling, and increased access to health care and social services for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants; and, children up to the age of five years. WIC is unique among other federal programs in that its Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) costs are generally presented as a whole, whereas other programs' costs only include the Administration component. A thorough study of WIC NSA costs has not occurred since 2000. Since that study, there have been a number of factors that have affected WIC NSA costs, including deployment of new technology. Examples include: • Management information systems (MIS), which has eliminated a number of manual processes (e.g., maintaining paper case files, appointment schedules, etc.) and increased staff efficiency. • Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) has replaced paper food instrument systems in a number of States, and • Recent WIC reauthorization legislation mandated EBT implementation in all States by the year 2020. FNS needs to know how these changes have affected WIC NSA costs and how they might affect program costs in the future. The National WIC NSA Costs Study will provide an updated assessment of the types and categories of costs charged to WIC NSA grants, and variation in these costs among State and local agencies. Anticipated objectives and research questions are listed below. OBJECTIVE 1: Gather data on the NSA grant system to obtain a detailed and accurate picture of average NSA funds at the National, State/ITO and local level at the level. Research Questions: 1. What are national, state/ITO, and local-agency averages for the NSA costs in the categories and subcategories shown in Figure 1. (State and local-agency averages would be grouped into three categories: large, medium, and small, rather than for each individual state/ITO or local agency.) a. Administration i. Program Management ii. General Management iii. Certification Costs iv. Management Information Systems v. Food Delivery Systems vi. Vendor Management vii. Office and Clinic Facilities viii. Indirect Costs ix. Training WIC Staff x. Translation Services xi. Transportation services b. Nutrition Services i. Nutrition Education (1) Consultants (2) Materials (3) Evaluation (4) Monitoring ii. Breastfeeding Support (1) Pro motion (2) Consultants (3) Materials (4) Evaluation (5) Monitoring iii. Client Services (1) Referrals to other programs (2) Outreach 2. If a State or local agency charges indirect costs, upon what base (e.g. number of staff, computers, etc.) is the applicable indirect cost rate determined? 3. How much and what kind of cash and in-kind contributions are being provided to the WIC Program at both the State and local agency levels? 4. Determine the effect that infant formula rebates have on both food and NSA costs. How do the amounts of infant formula rebates affect NSA budgets and expenditures? OBJECTIVE 2: Determine the impact on NSA costs of the increased use of technology. 1. Has the increased use of technology affected efficiencies? 2. Has the increased use of technology impacted staffing budgets? 3. Has the increased use of technology impacted staffing budgets, such as allowing staff to split their time differently between Program, Nutrition Services, and Administrative Costs? OBJECTIVE 3: Determine the extent and effect of economies of scale between larger and smaller State/ITOs and local agencies. 1. On what basis do State agencies allocate WIC NSA funding to the State and to their local agencies? (i.e., funding formula, caseload, other)? 2. What factors help determine economies of scale? (e.g., type of agency, such as hospital, county health department, non-profit agency, type of services offered, such as collocated health services, WIC services only, etc.) OBJECTIVE 4: Establish comparisons between WIC Administration Costs and Administration Costs in other similar federal programs? 1. WIC's Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) costs include both Nutrition Services and Administration. If these categories were separated, how would the Administration costs compare to those in other similar programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)? 2. What subcategories do those programs include in their Administrative costs? 3. Do they include Nutrition Services in their Administrative costs? ANTICIPATED DATA SOURCES The study will likely use survey data, follow up interview data, and potentially document review in local and State WIC agencies. The anticipated data sources are: • Survey Data. The contractor will be responsible for designing a survey with sampling that will provide national averages for NSA costs, as well as averages for States/ITOs and local agencies. The latter two categories will be divided into Large, Medium, and Small categories. • Follow up interviews/document review. The contractor will be responsible for conducting case studies in a subsample of states or local agencies to examine NSA costs in greater detail. These will include interviews with staff and document review to gather information on state and local WIC nutrition services and administration costs. CAPABILITY STATEMENT INFORMATION Please demonstrate your experience, skills, and qualifications with projects of similar scope and size completed within the last three (3) years, and explain in appropriate detail how you intend to demonstrate competency in each of the following points (A) through (O). Expound, utilizing specific examples, on how your firm has undertaken and/or demonstrated the prerequisites listed below: (A) Intricate and detailed understanding of WIC, including regulations, Federal policies, and State waivers. (B) Intricate and detailed understanding of nutrition services and administration costs, including knowledge of the operational and financial management aspects of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. (C) Conduct nationally-representative surveys from instrument design through data collection, analysis, and reporting, with sampling techniques that would enable overall averages and averages for subgroups. (D) Conduct qualitative interviews in multiple sites with over fifty (50) respondents, including recruiting and training staff to conduct the interviews, using appropriate sampling methodologies, developing interview protocols, recruiting participants, and recording, coding, analyzing, and reporting on qualitative data. (E) Employ a dedicated project director who can deliver high quality work, adhere to project schedules, keep costs within budget, manage the work of many professionals on many tasks simultaneously, and contribute knowledge and understanding of FNS programs. (F) Employ staff experienced in highly technical sampling techniques to obtain nationally-representative samples of FNS programs and/or participants and the development of corresponding sample weights for complex sample designs. (G) Employ staff experienced with developing comprehensive national study designs to address numerous complex interrelated research questions, questionnaires for computer assisted data collection or hard-copy completion, and OMB Information Collection Packages. (H) Employ experienced survey managers who can recruit a sufficient number of capable data collectors to provide information nationwide and over a short period of time; train and monitor data collectors' performance to collect high quality data and minimize non-response. (I) Employ experienced data collectors and interviewers who are proficient at collecting information from a wide variety of sources (e.g., State agencies, local agencies, data, etc.) using a variety of data collection techniques (e.g., CATI/CAPI data collection, on-site observation, record abstraction, etc.). (J) Employ staff with demonstrated proficiency in using analytic methods, including qualitative data analysis, mathematical modeling, multivariate regression analysis; and descriptive and inferential statistics. Staff with proficiency in manipulating large complex databases, using mainstream software packages, synthesizing results from multiple research sources, performing literature searches and reviews, conducting complex analyses; statistical adjustment for complex sample design; imputation; non-response bias analysis and correction; and creating complex, large scale databases accessible to any proficient database programmer. (K) Employ staff who have the necessary skills and experience to produce high quality, well edited reports and briefs which may be targeted to technical readers or to policy officials. Staff who can produce briefing materials (including PowerPoint presentations) and present study findings for technical and/or policy staff. (L) Ensure Personally-Identifiable Information is secured and protected. (M) Managed projects of a similar size and scope, including meeting government objectives, ensuring the quality and timeliness of deliverables, and coordinating with the government funding agency. Interested parties may submit capability statements that demonstrate their ability to perform all elements of the requirements as described in this notice. The Statement of Capabilities should also include: • Contractor Name • Address • Point of Contact (POC) • POC phone number and email address • DUNS number, and • Business status (i.e., large/small business, disadvantaged, Hub Zone, woman-owed, etc.) Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this sources sought synopsis is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of offeror submission of responses, or the Government's use of such information. The information obtained from responses to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and future RFP. No questions will be entertained or comment responded to by the Government. Offerors capable of providing these services should submit the information requested above via e-mail to Christina Carter-Kurant at [email protected] no later than 2PM Eastern Daylight Time, Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Small businesses qualified to provide described services are highly encouraged to submit capability statements. Limit the leng.th of the packages to 20 pages. Packages over 20 pages will not be evaluated. Contracting Office Address: 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 228 Alexandria, Virginia 22302