SEA Liaison Responsibilities
Contents
SEA Liaison Responsibilities
Frequently Asked Questions
Submission Of Electronic Funds Transfer Information With Offer
Sample RFP (Expression of Interest)
Introduction
General Requirements
Proposal Requirements
Review Criteria
SEA Liaison Responsibilities
The State Education Agency (SEA) liaison is appointed by the Chief State School Officer and is expected to speak on his or her behalf on issues of education data policy. A state liaison has several important responsibilities.
- The SEA Liaison shall act as representative in the coordination of Federal data collections at the state level and in other matters concerning the Cooperative System.
- The SEA Liaison shall attend two annual meetings of the National Forum on Education Statistics and participate in the annual NCES Data Conference and in the Management Information Systems (MIS) Conference.
- The SEA shall designate coordinators for data collection and assessment activities under the Common Core of Data (CCD) and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
- The SEA shall provide every single data item requested on the CCD surveys within the established NCES timelines.
- The SEA shall provide data requested by the Performance Based Data Management Initiative within the established US Department of Education timelines.
- The SEA liaison will serve as the contact for both Basic Participation and all Special Task Orders granted under the Cooperative System contract.
- When a State is awarded a special task order, the SEA liaison is responsible for:
- Serving as the main contact person for the special task award;
- Submitting deliverables, progress reports and vouchers as specified in the special task order; and
- Ensuring completion of work as scheduled.
- Under the Cooperative System Basic Participation Award, SEA liaisons shall oversee the submission of the following to NCES:
- A list of SEA survey coordinators;
- An attendance plan for Forum, MIS and Data Conference meetings; and
- A list of people participants at Forum, MIS and Data Conference meetings from the SEA.
For more information about SEA responsibilities, visit the Forum New Members' Page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who should I contact with questions about this process?
Q: How do I get my money off the Contract?
A: Submit an invoice along with the scheduled deliverable.
Q: Who do I send my basic participation and/or special task order invoice/deliverable(s) to?
A: The Contracts office (Carolyn Dempster) should receive the original invoice and deliverable(s) and a copy of your invoice and deliverable(s) goes to your COR (Mary McCrory). If Carolyn receives the invoice, but not the deliverable, your payment cannot be processed.
Q: What is the status of my invoice payment?
A: The federal government has 30-days after the date of receipt to have the state's invoice paid.
Q: What do I do with the Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract I received? Who has to sign it and who do I send it back to?
A: It is for INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY and does not need to be sent back.
Q: What if we can't make the deadline for contract submissions for FY04?
A: Please do try to get the forms in as soon as possible.
Q: How much funding will most likely be available for basic participation? How will this be determined?
A: You will not receive funding for that until November/December when FY04 funds become available. These funds are based on our estimate of the costs to a state of participation in the Winter Forum/MIS Conference and the Summer Forum/Data Conference. We get airfare estimates and add those to federal per diem allowances. There is usually an additional $1,000 - $2,000 for other out of pocket expenses a state may have in connection with Cooperative System participation.
Q: We are currently a "sponsored" state - are we required to have a contract now that there are two new tasks? If we are "sponsored" for task 1, can we still participate in task 2 and 3?
A: Yes, you can still participate in tasks 2 and 3.
Q: Do we have to complete the Section K forms? What sections do we have to complete?
A: Yes, you must complete section K! You will need to complete Section(s) K.1, K.2 (A-D), K.8, K.10 and the EFT form.
Q: What part of the EFT forms do I have to complete (see Appendix A)?
A: Complete 2, 3, 4 and 5.
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Submission of Electronic Funds Transfer Information with Offer
(MAY 1999)
The offeror shall provide, with its offer, the following information that is required to make payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT) under any contract that results from this solicitation. This submission satisfies the requirement to provide EFT information under paragraphs (b)(1) and (j) of the clause at 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—Other than Central Contractor Registration.
(1) The solicitation number (or other procurement identification number).
(2) The offeror's name and remittance address, as stated in the offer.
(3) The signature (manual or electronic, as appropriate), title, and telephone number of the offeror's official authorized to provide this information.
(4) The name, address, and 9-digit Routing Transit Number of the offeror's financial agent.
(5) The offeror's account number and the type of account (checking, savings, or lockbox).
(6) If applicable, the Fedwire Transfer System telegraphic abbreviation of the offeror's financial agent.
(7) If applicable, the offeror shall also provide the name, address, telegraphic abbreviation, and 9-digit Routing Transit Number of the correspondent financial institution receiving the wire transfer payment if the offeror's financial agent is not directly online to the Fedwire and, therefore, not the receiver of the wire transfer payment.
(End of provision)
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Sample RFP (Expression of Interest)
Introduction
The general purpose of State Cooperative System Task Orders for fiscal year 2007 (FY2007) is to improve federal-state cooperation in data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting. In order to accomplish this goal, work will be supported in the general area of electronic data collection and reporting. Examples of such work include, but are not limited to:
- Changing the state’s education information system to meet the accountability requirements of No Child Left Behind;
- Assessing the information system’s capacity to provide the data needed;
- Revising existing data systems to improve the quality and timeliness of data reported to the U.S. Department of Education, in particular the CCD, and other federal agencies;
- Establishing and implementing standard data item definitions or reporting standards across the agency;
- Merging information systems and cross walking data to include existing data (e.g., separate program data files) that are currently not readily accessible;
- Developing and/or improving information systems to enable reporting school-level data; and
- Establishing consortia of states to address common issues and interests in data collection and reporting, including federal program data requirements.
General Requirements
These tasks are issued under the Cooperative System contracts between the Department of Education and state education agencies. In order to be considered for a task in FY2007, a written proposal following the outline described in this document must be submitted to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). All proposals will be reviewed by representatives from the National Forum on Education Statistics, who will recommend proposals to NCES for funding; NCES will decide which states will be issued FY2007 task orders.
Proposal Cut-Off Date. Proposals must be received by NCES no later than 5:00 p.m. September 24, 2007. Proposals must be submitted electronically as a Word ™ document to Ghedam Bairu. If this is not possible, contact Ghedam Bairu at 202-502-7304. |
Task order amounts. The amount of funding for any task order will reflect the resources needed to carryout the work. However, no task order will be funded in an amount exceeding $80,000.
Deliverables. A state will be reimbursed for making progress as described in the Statement of Work, on NCES approval of the specified deliverable items and receipt of a voucher from the state.
The state agrees to:
- Deliver written progress reports at intervals specified in the statement of work.
- Produce a voucher requesting payment of funds at the intervals specified in the statement of work with the completion of each deliverable.
- Present an annual progress report on the task order work at an NCES sponsored meeting.
- Provide a written final report suitable for distribution to members of the National Forum on Educational Statistics.
Dates of initiation and completion. Work on any task order issued for FY2007 must be begun within FY2007, that is, before September 30, 2007. All work must be completed by the end of the contract under which it is issued.
Other considerations. NCES will place priority on issuing FY2007 task orders to states that have not received a special task order in the past and have no work outstanding under prior Cooperative System task order awards. NCES will place priority on funding task orders that involve collaboration among several states, or between a state education agency and the state’s school districts.
Proposal Requirements
The proposal should be technically sound, seem feasible, and give the reviewer enough information to understand what work is being proposed and judge whether it addresses the objectives described above. A short proposal can address all of these points. The following outline should be used in writing a proposal.
- Cover Sheet: The cover sheet should contain the title of the proposed project; the name, mailing address, work phone number, fax number and email address of the person submitting the proposal; and the amount of award requested.
- Background and Objectives: This section should contain (a) very brief description of the proposed project; (b) description of how the project relates to the areas of interest, as described in the Introduction, for FY2007; (c) an explanation of why the project is needed; (d) a description of relevant past activities, or acknowledgment that there are none; (e) the goals of the project, including a statement of the final desired outcome; (f) the objectives of the project, with expected specific products or changes that will lead to the accomplishment of the goal(s).
- Activities: The activities to be included are (a) the major tasks to be carried out in the project; (b) a timeline including anticipated beginning and ending dates, and dates (or number of weeks from project start-up) of major products or accomplishments within the project; (c) time(s) at which plans, progress reports or accomplishments will be submitted with voucher; (d) a description of anticipated products or accomplishments.
- Staff: Include (a) the names and/or titles, and relevant qualifications of persons who will carry out the project; (b) an indication of the amount of time each person will devote to it (be sure to include in-kind staff resources provided by the agency).
- Budget: Budget categories should include salaries, benefits, supplies, purchased services such as consultants, travel, and fee or overhead charges (if applicable) as well as any other substantial cost areas. Indicate what amounts are from the requested task order and what amounts are from other sources. Note that task order funds may not be used for equipment purchase totaling $1,000 or more.1
Review Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed based on the following criteria; the maximum number of points awarded for each criterion is noted. The qualities commanding the maximum number of points are described for each criterion. The proposal section in which the criterion is expected to be addressed is shown in parentheses. You proposal must include answers to the following questions:
- Are all items in the proposal requirements included? Does the proposal correspond to the sections in the request for proposals? How does the project address the scope of the topics as described above (II-b)? Does the proposal explicitly identify the topical area addressed and clearly show how the proposal relates to it? 20 points.
- Are the activities plausible and sufficient for meeting the objectives of the proposal (III-a)? Are the activities clearly stated and linked to the objectives? Will the activities described logically lead toward achieving the objectives of the project? 20 points.
- Do the Identified personnel have the position, expertise, and sufficient time commitment to see that the work gets done (IV-a, IV-b)? Does the proposal list all project personnel describing their responsibilities in the project, describing aspects of their current position and/or experience and education that qualify them for this role? Does the proposal state how much time each person will commit to the project? Are the personnel appropriate and of sufficient number to complete the work? 15 points.
- Are the needs and anticipated outcomes important enough to justify the project (II-c, II-e, II-f)? Does the proposal describe pre-existing conditions that make the projected work important? Does the proposal describe expected negative consequences if the work is not done? Is the anticipated effect upon the state described clearly? How does the value of this anticipated change contribute to the goals of this task order and how does the value outweigh the costs and/or burden of doing the project? 10 points.
- Will the results be applicable to, or usable by, other states (II-e, II-f)? Is there a clear statement of how the results of the project can be used by other states? 10 points.
- Is the timeline logically sequenced (III-b)? Does the proposed time appear sufficient to accomplish the work? 10 points.
- Is funding sufficient and will task order funds be used appropriately (V)? Is there a table to link the project costs to project activities? Are costs identified by type of expenditure (e.g., salaries, benefits, supplies, purchased services, travel)? Are task order funds used to purchase equipment? If so, is the amount less than $1,000? Are supplemental funds, if any, identified? 10 points.
- Is there a sufficient institutional commitment to the project (II-d)? As relevant, does the proposal describe past work in the state, past or current legislation, programs, or regulations (if appropriate)? Does the proposal include letters of support and commitment that evidence a willingness beyond that of the proposal writer to carry out the project? 5 points.
1Task orders do not provide funds for purchasing proprietary software; if this expense is included in the budget please use the Activities Section to describe the role of the software in the project.
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Publications of the National Forum on Education Statistics do not undergo the formal review required for products of the National Center for Education Statistics. The information and opinions published here are the product of the National Forum on Education Statistics and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education or the National Center for Education Statistics.
