Frequently Asked Questions About the Cooperative System Contract Process
General 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 (LaShawn Pettaway) should receive the original invoice and deliverable(s) and a copy of your invoice and deliverable(s) goes to your COR (Ghedam Bairu). If LaShawn receives the invoice, but not the deliverable, your payment cannot be processed because payment has not been officially requested.
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: Funds are specified for the NAEP and PBDMI task orders but not for basic participation. Will a separate amount be awarded for the basic participation task order, or have the basic participation funds been absorbed by the PBDMI task order?
A: NAEP and PBDMI are using funds from FY03, while basic participation funds will come from FY04 money. Because we don't know our FY04 budget yet, we don't have specific numbers on this.
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)?
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Performance Based Data Management Initiative (PBDMI) Questions
Q: Who should I contact with questions about PBDMI?
Q: Who do I send my invoice/deliverable(s) to for PBDMI?
A: The Contracts office (LaShawn Pettaway) should receive the original invoice and deliverable(s) and a copy of your invoice and deliverable(s) goes to Patrick Sherrill. If LaShawn receives the invoice, but not the deliverable, your payment cannot be processed by because payment has not been officially requested.
Q: How many years will the PBDMI funding continue? Will the funding increase?
A: The PBDMI budget includes funding for this Cooperative System subcontract for the next three years at the current level of funding. Budgets can change, however, based on the perceived benefit of a program's documented outcomes.
Q: When is the PBDMI plan due?
A: The short answer is as soon as possible. Funding will be provided to the State as soon as ED reviews and approves the plan.
Q: What level of detail is required in the "plan" that is to be submitted?
A: The minimum requirement is that a state commit to a good faith effort to provide, in November 2003, the elementary and secondary education data the State recently identified as available, at that time, for the 2002-2003 school year. Some basic details of the estimated level of effort, schedule, and costs to do that would be appreciated.
Q: What happens if a State can provide only a small percentage of the requested PBDMI data?
A: The recent PBDMI team site visits to the States have documented some significant differences among the States in their abilities to provide good quality data as requested in the Phase I array of data. Each State will be expected to provide only that data they have identified as quality education data in their respective State.
Q: When will data format and data transmission requirements be provided to the States for the PBDMI collection scheduled for November 2003? What will these requirements include? Will States with less automated data systems be required to provide data in a highly sophisticated way?
A: Format and transmission requirements are being developed at this time. The contractor and team responsible for developing these requirements will take into consideration the wide range of system capabilities among the SEAs and provide options that will allow submission of data in an equally wide range of methods in order to minimize burden on the SEAs.
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National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Questions
Q: Who should I contact with questions about NAEP?
Q: How do I find out who my state's NAEP State Coordinator is?
A: Go to the NAEP State Profiles web page, click on your state, and your state's Coordinator's name and contact information will appear on the right column of your screen.
Q: Who do I send my NAEP invoice/deliverable(s) to?
A: The Contracts office (LaShawn Pettaway) should receive the original invoice and deliverable(s) and a copy of your invoice and deliverable(s) goes to Sherran Osborne. If LaShawn receives the invoice, but not the deliverable, your payment cannot be processed by because payment has not been officially requested.
Q: How can I find out who the Forum Member for my state is?
Q: Why is the fixed price for the NAEP coordinator task award significantly lower from the prior two NAEP awards?
A: The amount is lower because it currently only includes travel and miscellaneous funds for 2003 that were not on the April - Sept. 2003 task order. Funds for the Coordinator's salary and benefits will be added later.
Q: The last NAEP task order for my state was from April 2002 through March 2003; the current task order is April 2003 through September 2003; and the next task order will be August 2003 through September 2004. Why are the schedules so different?
A: The first task order (April 2002 through March 2003) was issued based on the beginning of the NAEP State Coordinator program. The second task order (April 2003 through September 2003) was scheduled to continue when the first task order ended, but could not last a year due to the expiration of the Cooperative System Contract in September 2003. The next NAEP task order (August 2003 through September 2004) and all subsequent NAEP task orders are scheduled to be on the same timeline as the other task orders issued under the Cooperative System Contract.
Q: When are the next NAEP deliverables due?
A: Under the current NAEP task order, federally funded NAEP State Coordinators must submit an annual work plan 6 weeks after the web seminar is held to discuss the work plans (these web seminars are scheduled for the week of July 21 and the week of July 28). Under the next task order, federally funded NAEP State Coordinators must submit a list of their states' release plans by September 30, 2003.
Q: The payment/funding for Task 2 (NAEP coordinator task order) is $XX,XXX for August 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004. There is also a worksheet (Support for State Participation in NAEP) which is the NAEP detail referred to in the letter. Are the costs detailed on the worksheet to be supported by NCES/NAEP in addition to the amount specified above?
A: Task 2 NAEP funding is the third deliverable to the current NAEP task that you are working on with FY03 funds. This worksheet needs to be a part of the file as a formality and you will not receive additional costs for NAEP.
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APPENDIX A: 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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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.
