DYNAMICS OF SNAP PARTICIPATION IN THE MID- 2000s

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. A SOLICITATION IS NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) intends to issue a competitive small business set-aside procurement for advisory and assistance services to assess the Dynamics of SNAP Participation in the Mid-2000s. FNS is sponsoring the latest study in a series that will update and expand our knowledge of the dynamics of participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The study will provide updated measures of SNAP participation dynamics and expanded examination of individuals' circumstances that trigger SNAP entries and exits and influence the length of time participants remain on SNAP. The analysis on spell lengths will include both a cohort analysis and a cross-sectional analysis. The study has three objectives: 1. Update SNAP participation dynamics, including entry rates, spell lengths, exit rates, and reentry rates, which are comparable to previous estimates. 2. Describe the participation dynamics of subgroups. 3. Further explore circumstances that influence SNAP entries and exits. The main data source that will be used to examine SNAP participation dynamics is the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This study will use the 2004 longitudinal panel for SIPP. This data can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.census.gov/sipp/. SIPP is a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of the resident non-institutionalized population in the U.S., conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Data are collected every four months about each preceding month of the reference period or wave to minimize recall error. Topical Modules are administered every wave covering specific socioeconomic and demographic items. The module that focuses on respondents' history of employment and program participation is administered in the first wave. FNS is seeking firms with the capability of conducting descriptive and multivariate analyses on the SIPP data. Interested parties may submit capability statements that demonstrate its ability to perform all elements of the requirement as described in this notice. Your response must include a description of your past experience on at least three (3) similar projects consistent in scope, size and complexity with this requirement which you performed in the past three years; and description of staff experience and skills. Contact information for references on the described, similar projects shall also be provided. All responses must be submitted to [email protected] NO LATER THAN 4:00 p.m. on April 30, 2010. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. For questions concerning this notice, please contact Belal Hammad, Contract Specialist, at 703-305-2262. Please limit the length of the packages to 20 pages. Packages over 20 pages will not be evaluated.