The U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics anticipates a contract to implement a data collection supplement to U.S. participation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PIAAC is an international household study of literacy, numeracy, literacy components, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments. PIAAC is a cooperative venture managed by participating OECD countries. The project is steered by a Board of Participating Countries (BPC), which is supported by staff of the OECD Secretariat.

The overall goal for this anticipated procurement is to supplement the PIAAC U.S. national data collection undertaken in 2011 with (1) an additional sample of U.S. adults to produce, when combined with the original 2011 U.S. PIAAC sample, a representative U.S. sample capable of supporting analyses of key U.S. subgroups outlined in the attached DRAFT performance work statement (PWS); (2) a bridging study that establishes a statistical linkage between PIAAC and the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL); and (3) administration of an assessment of additional adult literacy domains not included in PIAAC 2011.

The solicitation is anticipated to be issued as a full and open competition for a 5-year contract, on or about June 26, 2012.  Please see the DRAFT PWS attached for this requirement. 

The performance period of this contract is estimated to be from September 2012 to September 2017.

Solicitation documents, plans and specifications will be exclusively available via the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website located at https://www.fbo.gov on or about June 26, 2012.

It is the contractor's responsibility to monitor FBO for any amendments/updates to this requirement.  All contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx as required by FAR 4.1102.

Interested parties may submit questions regarding this requirement to: LaChelle Johnson at LaChelle.Johnson@ed.gov or (202) 245-6009.

Please note that this is NOT a REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL and in no way obligates the government to award a contract.  ED will not be responsible for any costs incurred responding to this announcement.

Please see the 'Vendor Collaboration for PIAAC' Special Notice for this requirement, scheduled June 18, 2012.