This Request For Information (RFI) is in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.215-3 (Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)). It is neither a solicitation announcement nor a request for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. The purpose of this RFI is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified vendors. and is published only to encourage interested parties capable of providing technical support to submit information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) , Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The goal of this RFI is to gather industry experience and expert advice on the Government’s needs as outlined in the SCOPE. The industry responses will be used by the Government to refine the scope of the future requirement for described services. In reviewing the responses, the Government may request a meeting or teleconference with responding firms to gain further insight into their capabilities. The Government is not obligated to hold these meetings with all or any firm. If the Government decides to meet with a firm(s), it will only meet with firms that respond to this notice. The Government will not reimburse costs to any firm for their participation in these meetings or teleconferences. Firms are discouraged from including marketing informational material that does not relate to the services described in this RFI as it will be discarded by the reviewers. SCOPE: Periodically the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) performs management reviews to gauge how closely particular units are performing against agency standards. For an upcoming study, APHIS is interested in looking at the factors contributing to compliance or non-compliance with behavioral standards and norms. To that end, APHIS is seeking a contractor to conduct a social-science-based leadership and workplace study to elicit the positive and negative factors including but not limited to the organizational, cultural, sociological, economic, psychological, managerial, and administrative issues which may be contributing to compliance or non-compliance of Federal, agency and behavioral standards and norms. In addition, the Agency is seeking recommended solutions on how best to transition into new and more effective ways of doing business at the worksite involved and to create alignment with acceptable agency standards. As the worksite transitions to these new ways of doing business, the recommendations must take into consideration various ways to support all employees at the affected and closely allied worksites. This study will require the contractor to use an approach ensuring both personal confidentiality and one having minimal impact on overall productivity. Finally, the Agency is seeking a contractor to issue a final report and review that is: • Internally valid, i.e., one that accurately depicts the situation at the worksite • Methodologically sound, i.e., the findings must follow from appropriate and appropriately administered methods, and • Transparent, i.e., the affected individuals must know what to expect and when. All interested, capable, and responsible sources that wish to respond to this announcement are encouraged to submit documentation on their specific capabilities. As a minimum, the Government requests responses to provide the following: (a) Company name, address, point of contact, phone, fax, and email (b) DUNS number, Cage Code, and Tax ID Number (c) Type of small business: Services Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business, 8(a), HUB-Zone, Women Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, or Small Business, HUB-Zone business (d) Past Performance: provide prior/current experience performing similar services, size and scope, organization supported, indicate whether a prime or subcontractor, contract value, and Government or commercial point of contact with current telephone number and e-mail address. (e) Capability Statement: The Capability Statement, including past performance information, should not exceed 20 pages (not including relevant marketing material and exhibits). Responses should be received no later than NOVEMBER 14, 2008, 3:30 pm (local time) and may be submitted via e-mail to
[email protected] or fax @ 612-336-3550. All information will be kept confidential and not shared with any one outside of the government. Any information submitted and considered proprietary must be appropriately marked by the submitter.