Heirs' Property, Persistent Poverty, and the Racial Wealth Gap Analysis

THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Under the authority of FAR 13.106, the USDA FS Southern Research Station, Saucier, MS intends to award, on a sole source basis, a Firm Fixed Price Purchase Order (PO) for a PhD level Social Scientist trained in Family and Consumer Sciences. This award to be made to the Dr. Johnson Gaither registered in SAM under INSIGHTS Housing & Community Research. LLC. This requirement seeks a PhD level social scientist trained in Family and Consumer Sciences to develop, coordinate, and administer interviews for a project supporting USDA funded research titled: Heirs’ Property, Persistent Poverty, and the Racial Wealth Gap: Analysis, Connections, and Solutions. The following actions are required: Travel to the Center for Heirs' Property Preservation in Charleston, SC to meet potential project participants before data collection begins. This in-person visit will be helpful for building trust and confidence between the research team and potential respondents. Conduct literature review and develop annotated bibliography based on the literature review. The literature referenced will be decided upon in collaboration with project team leads. Design interview guide and consent form. The interviews will be conducted face-to-face, virtually with a semi-structured guide. Conduct interviews with 50 families/individuals who have resolved their heirs’ property titles with the aid of the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation. Develop field notes from the interviews Basis for sole source is professionals trained in relevant research methods and theory are required for eliciting the necessary data from families. In addition, the ideal contractor would have experience conducting qualitative research with real property owners; have extensive knowledge of housing financial literacy, and experience working in the real estate sector. Also, because of the sensitive nature of this topic and the communities from which the project participants come, it would also be very helpful for the contractor to have knowledge of coastal South Carolina. The sole source has all of these qualifications. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. This is a notice of intent to solicit and award a sole source contract under Simplified Acquisition Procedures, FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i). The anticipated award date is 13Aug 2021. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services. However, all interested parties who believe they can meet the requirements are invited to submit in writing complete information describing their ability to provide the product/services listed above. All inquiries on this action can be submitted in writing via e-mail to Chandria Fulghum, Contracting Specialist, [email protected] and Keith Friot, Contracting Officer at [email protected] no later than 12 August 2021 at 5:00PM EST. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. All information shall be furnished at no cost or obligation to the Government.